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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan declared that "full EU membership remains a strategic goal for Türkiye" during a working visit to Rome on Thursday, calling on the European Union to abandon prejudiced attitudes and develop a vision to revitalize Türkiye's membership process while strengthening bilateral ties with Italy in areas such as defense, trade, and migration control.
Meeting with Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, Fidan delivered a clear message about Türkiye's EU aspirations during a joint press conference at the Italian Foreign Ministry.
"Full EU membership remains a strategic goal for Türkiye," Fidan said.
"In this process, our expectation from the EU is not to adopt a prejudiced attitude based on narrow political calculations and to develop a vision that includes steps to revitalize the Türkiye-EU membership process," he added.
"Italy's support for our country's EU membership is a manifestation of a strategic and long-term perspective. We expect this understanding to be adopted by all EU members," Fidan noted.
"We are determined to further deepen our strategic partnership with Italy," Fidan stated.
"Our President and Italian Prime Minister Ms. (Giorgia) Meloni have repeatedly demonstrated their will in this regard in the strongest way," he noted.
Tajani echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that Türkiye and Italy are strategic partners, pointing to the Türkiye-Italy Intergovernmental Summit held in Rome in April as evidence of this relationship.
The two NATO allies highlighted expanding defense industry cooperation, with Fidan expressing satisfaction with recent developments.
"We are greatly pleased with our cooperation in the defense industry field," Fidan said.
"The recent acquisition of Italy's long-established aviation company Piaggio Aerospace by Baykar, as well as establishing a partnership with Italian defense industry company Leonardo, sets an example for our region," he added.
Progress on Eurofighter procurement was described as "extremely important" for both countries by Fidan.
Tajani confirmed Italy's broader defense strategy: "Our aim is to strengthen our defense industry by cooperating not only with EU member countries but also with countries like the U.S., U.K. and Türkiye."
Fidan underscored a critical point about European security: "A sustainable and deterrent security architecture can only be possible with the full participation of Türkiye, which has NATO's second largest army."
Tajani confirmed their aligned vision: "We agreed on strengthening stability in Syria, Lebanon and throughout the Middle East. We have great confidence in the role of friendly country Türkiye for peace and stability, and we believe we can take important steps together."
Bilateral trade between the two Mediterranean nations has exceeded $32 billion, with Fidan announcing an ambitious new target.
"Our goal is to raise this to $40 billion," Fidan said.
Tajani provided additional context on the economic relationship: "We reached a total trade volume of $32 billion in 2024. We are Türkiye's largest trade partner in the Mediterranean region and second largest in Europe, so our exports to Türkiye have more than doubled in recent years."
"Therefore, we are ready to make more investments and, of course, accept investments coming to our country," the Italian Foreign Minister noted.
The ministers signed a cooperation agreement on combating irregular migration Thursday evening, with Tajani describing the issue as "of vital importance" for Italy.
"Cooperation with an important country like Türkiye in the Mediterranean region will enable us to strengthen our fight against human traffickers," Tajani said.
"This initiative is a concrete action by the government with a key country in the fight against irregular migration, drug trafficking and terrorism in the Mediterranean," he noted.
He added: "The Mediterranean should no longer be a cemetery for migrants, but a sea that serves to build prosperity and growth."
Fidan noted that "Türkiye is fighting irregular migration with determination" and stated that "as a result of Türkiye's efforts, the pressure on the Eastern Mediterranean migration route has particularly decreased."
Fidan also emphasized the Mediterranean region's key position for Europe's energy security and connectivity.
"Developing our cooperation in these areas will provide great benefits both bilaterally and regionally," he said, adding, "On the other hand, activities envisaged in our maritime jurisdiction areas must be carried out in accordance with international maritime law and in effective coordination, respecting sovereign peoples. We are greatly pleased with Italy's sensitivity on this matter."
Both ministers addressed the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, with Fidan emphasizing Türkiye's role in peace efforts.
"Türkiye has provided concrete contributions by hosting direct negotiation processes between the parties," Fidan said, noting, "Ankara is ready to continue its facilitating role in the coming period and make every effort to end the war."
Tajani acknowledged Ankara's potential: "We know very well that Ankara can play an important role in facilitating dialogue. Also, I reiterated to Fidan Italy's proposal to provide Ukraine with a security guarantee modeled on NATO's Article 5 once peace is achieved."
Regarding recent violations of Polish airspace by Russian drones, Fidan confirmed NATO's response: "An extraordinary meeting was held at the level of permanent representatives in NATO addressing Article 4. I hope we don't see a repeat of this."
He added: "As Türkiye and Italy, we have a common view that this war must end as soon as possible."
When asked about Russian drones violating Polish airspace, Tajani stated: "Italy clearly condemned this. It's clear that Russia wants to test intervention capabilities even militarily. I hope this doesn't happen again. This is not new. When I was an Air Force officer, we used to watch Warsaw Pact MiGs approaching NATO borders and testing intervention capabilities. This is normal, but very concerning."
"I hope there won't be an escalation. Even the slightest mistake could lead to the situation getting worse. We must work for peace, not war, but we must defend the territorial integrity of Italy and NATO," Tajani noted.
Both countries reaffirmed their shared approach to Libya.
"We reiterated our common stance on continuing the political process in Libya and encouraging actors in the field to dialogue," Fidan said. "The unity, territorial integrity, sovereignty, stability and security of Libya must be permanently maintained. As Türkiye and Italy, we will continue our efforts in this direction."
When asked about potential visits from Libyan officials, Fidan revealed: "Türkiye and Italy follow the same policy on Libya. In recent years, Türkiye has reached the same level of relations with the East that it developed with the West. In this context, House of Representatives Speaker Aguila Saleh has visited Ankara."
"Saddam Haftar and Bilqasim Haftar have been guests in Türkiye on various occasions, held meetings, and were hosted. Currently, we don't have General Khalifa Haftar's visit to Türkiye on our agenda, but it would be a normal matter," he added.
"We discussed what kind of work we can do in light of the priorities and expectations of countries on the continent," Fidan said regarding Africa, noting, "Supporting prosperity and stability in Africa is necessary."
Tajani added, "We are ready to work together on peace efforts. Therefore, we want to strengthen dialogue between Italy, Türkiye and Libya. We want to expand this to other regional actors as well because stability in North Africa and the Mediterranean is of vital importance to us."
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