Turkey criticized the European Commission's annual report on EU accession progress

Ankara's reaction to the EC report

November 4 Turkey's Foreign Ministry issued a statement in response to the European Commission's report on Turkey, published as part of the 2026 EU enlargement package. The ministry characterized the Commission's assessment as a manifestation of a 'biased and unfair attitude' toward Turkey and accused a number of EU officials of double standards and an inconsistent approach to Ankara.

What exactly Turkey rejected

Particular criticism was directed at the sections of the report on political criteria, the judiciary and fundamental rights — the ministry rejected these assessments as lacking credibility. On the Cyprus issue, Ankara stated that the EU cannot make a meaningful contribution to a settlement as long as it unconditionally accepts the position of the Greek side of Cyprus, and accused the bloc of supporting the 'unrealistic and legally dubious positions' of Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration to the detriment of the interests of Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Turkey called the assessments concerning the Eastern Mediterranean contrary to international law, and the remarks on the maritime agreement with Libya legally void.

Positive assessments and counter-demands

At the same time, the ministry welcomed the report's recognition of Turkey's progress in economic and monetary policy, as well as the assessments of the functioning of the market economy and the country's ability to withstand competitive pressure within the EU. The mentions of Turkey's role in transport connectivity, supply chains, the resilience of value chains, and defense and security were received positively. Drawing on the economic and trade data cited in the report, Ankara once again called for modernizing the EU–Turkey customs union, calling this a legitimate and justified expectation.

Call for a strategic partnership

The Foreign Ministry emphasized that Turkey–EU relations should be built on common interests and a long-term vision rather than narrow political calculations, and declared Ankara's readiness to advance relations on the basis of mutual trust, respect and justice while honoring commitments under partnership law. Turkey called on the EU to turn the recent growth in dialogue into concrete decisions that strengthen the membership perspective, and to demonstrate strategic political will for building a common future. The material is based on a report by the Anadolu agency; the European Commission's position in available sources is presented only through the Turkish side's account.