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The time has come to “look with fresh eyes” at relations between the European Union and Türkiye, with stronger partnerships offering benefits to both sides, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said in an interview ahead of her visit to Ankara on Feb. 5–6.
“Stronger partnerships between the EU and Türkiye would be win-win for all of us,” Kos told Turkish news agency Anadolu in an exclusive interview.
“There is really more that connects EU and Türkiye than what is dividing us, and we really should work on this,” she said, stressing that “our economies are very much interdependent.”
Kos said she is “very much looking forward” to her first official visit to Türkiye and noted that she has had “intense contacts” with Turkish counterparts “since the first day” of her mandate, particularly with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.
She said the visit is in line with the approach of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who has held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at opening a new perspective in relations.
“We are really living in challenging times. The world is changing around us. We are seeing the return of imperial behavior as China, Russia, and the US are aggressively building their spheres of interest,” Kos said.
Against that backdrop, she called for closer cooperation, noting that “whatever happens on the field of migration on each side is affecting the other side.”
Kos also expressed hope that a Ukraine peace agreement would be signed soon, saying it could “change the realities in Europe and also especially in the Black Sea, where I see Türkiye as a very important partner already.”
Kos said a key goal of her visit is to foster trust, noting that “trust is getting nowadays more and more important” and that both politics and business require partners “whom you can trust and build upon.”
She described Türkiye as the “heart” of the EU’s Connectivity Strategy, a geopolitical initiative aimed at strengthening transport, energy, digital and people-to-people links.
“We can’t do this without Türkiye,” she said, referring to efforts to better connect Europe with Central Asia and turn the so-called middle corridor into “a very, very strong connection.”
Kos said the Connectivity Strategy would also deepen cooperation with partners “together in the Caucasus,” adding that this is why she is pleased the European Investment Bank is resuming operations in Türkiye.
“During my visit to Ankara, two projects, each worth €100 million ($118 million), will be signed as part of the re-engagement of the EIB, which wasn’t possible for some years,” she said.
She said the move follows last year’s high-level economic dialogue, which she said the business community “really, really loved to see.”
“Now it is happening,” Kos said, adding that the two EIB-financed renewable energy projects mark “the start” of broader involvement by the EIB, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank in future renewable energy and connectivity projects.
As part of her visit, Kos is set to meet Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.
Asked about the impact of recent EU trade deals with Mercosur and India on the EU-Türkiye Customs Union, Kos said the agreements highlight the “attractiveness” of trade access to the EU’s 450-million-strong market, even as “some people are doubting” the bloc’s geopolitical relevance.
She said the deals are “very important” but emphasized that “the trade between the EU and Türkiye is almost twice as much as our trade with Mercosur.”
Kos urged looking at the “bigger picture in these uncertain times, when China, Russia, and the US are creating their spheres of interest.”
“It will be more and more important that we do business with reliable partners. There are many things we can do to improve the bilateral trade,” she said, noting that she had received a letter from the Turkish business community, also published in the Financial Times, on the future of EU-Türkiye economic relations.
“We should make much more out of this trading relation, including the improvement of the functioning of the Customs Union and removing some barriers we still have there,” she said.
While acknowledging that the customs union has not been updated for 30 years, Kos said progress depends on political developments, including relations with the Greek Cypriot administration.
Kos said the EU’s “Made in Europe” initiative, which prioritizes European companies in public procurement, is a response to changing global trade dynamics and the erosion of World Trade Organization rules.
“We want to be sure that if we spend public money, it actually benefits the companies that choose to work in Europe or close to Europe, who want to innovate, and who also want to invest and produce in Europe and in places we can trust. This is a matter of security,” she said.
She stressed that discussions on the initiative are ongoing and said its economic logic must align with geopolitical considerations.
“If we take together economic and geopolitical logic, this cannot exclude Türkiye,” Kos said, adding that conditions enabling trade would need to be “further developed” for participation in EU public procurement.
She said she would meet Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek during her visit and welcomed the resumption of high-level dialogues between the EU and Türkiye.
“Last year we had five: economy, trade, migration, security, research, innovation, and agriculture,” she said, adding that she would like to see similar dialogues on energy and transport in the future.
On Türkiye’s EU membership prospects, Kos acknowledged that accession talks have been stalled since 2018 but said the EU continues to regard Türkiye as a candidate country.
She noted that recent EU enlargement reports pointed to steps away from EU standards, particularly on the rule of law and democracy, but said Türkiye’s “very long democratic tradition” and strong civil society provide a foundation to rebuild trust.
According to Kos, there are “immense possibilities” within the EU’s internal market and Türkiye’s population of over 80 million.
“If we could put new energy into the development of the field of democracy, I think we could do really, really much more,” she said.
She added that progress is also linked to bilateral issues, including Cyprus and renewed settlement talks.
Kos described Türkiye as a “very important, reliable NATO partner” and the alliance’s second-largest member, noting its role in European security and the war in Ukraine.
“We also have seen how Turkish drones have been playing a decisive role at the beginning of the war in Ukraine,” she said, adding that Türkiye is a “natural partner” for deeper cooperation.
She said Turkish companies can already participate in some EU rearmament programs under certain conditions and expressed support for stronger Turkish involvement in European security.
Kos said progress in migration talks last year allowed the EU to introduce a so-called cascade visa system, making it easier for Turkish citizens to obtain multiple-entry visas.
“This is already showing the results,” she said, while noting that six conditions still need to be met for visa-free travel.
She said visa liberalization remains a top priority and stressed that connectivity also means strengthening people-to-people ties.
“When I speak about the connectivity, I would also like to stress the connections between people,” Kos said.
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