EU-Turkey Relations: Turkey's Erdogan asks EU to relaunch membership negotiations

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday asked the European Union to relaunch talks for Ankara to eventually become an EU member, on the eve of a summit focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We expect the EU to open quickly the chapters of the membership negotiations and to start negotiations on a customs union without yielding to cynical calculations," Erdogan said after talks with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

The Turkish president's comments come as Ankara has emerged as a pivotal player in the war in Ukraine, reviving its place in institutions like Nato after years of tensions with western states.

Last month Turkey invoked the 1936 Montreux Convention to close the Bosporus straight to foreign battleships. It has also sold armed drones to Ukraine and is attempting to mediate an end to the fighting between Kyiv and Moscow.

Read more at: Turkey's Erdogan asks EU to relaunch membership negotiations | Middle East Eye

Turkey-EU Relations: EU may suspend Turkey customs union talks

EU states will threaten to freeze talks on an upgraded customs union with Turkey if it does not stop drilling for gas in disputed waters near Cyprus, according to draft conclusions of a General Affairs Council on Tuesday seen by the Bloomberg news agency.

The EU "stands ready to respond appropriately and in full solidarity with Cyprus," the draft text said, following defiant Turkish statements over the weekend.

Read - Report: EU may suspend Turkey customs union talks

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EU-Turkey relations need structural solution – by Samuel Doveri Vesterbye

 EU-Turkey relations were boosted in the mid-1990s, when economic ties were upgraded and the 1995 Customs Union Agreement came into effect. Its benefits were widespread. It now needs reform to continue doing good, writes Samuel Doveri Vesterbye.

Read more: EU-Turkey relations need structural solution – EURACTIV.com