EU delegation heads to Türkiye for high-level talks

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas will pay a two-day official visit to Türkiye on June 29-30. The EU delegation will also include Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos and Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner.

That is according to Haberler, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

"The visit will take place ahead of the NATO summit, which will be held in Ankara on July 7-8. It will be Kaja Kallas's second official visit to Türkiye as the EU High Representative," the announcement said.

As part of the visit, the European delegation is scheduled to hold talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

"The parties are expected to discuss the state of EU-Türkiye relations, shared geopolitical challenges, and prospects for deepening cooperation," the report said.

Türkiye has been an EU candidate country since 1999. Accession negotiations, launched in 2005, were suspended in 2016 due to political disagreements and criticism from Brussels over human rights and democratic standards in Türkiye. Despite criticism from Brussels and ongoing difficulties in relations with the EU, particularly regarding the accession process, Ankara continues to insist that full membership in the European Union remains Türkiye's goal.

The NATO summit will take place in Ankara on July 7-8. Ahead of the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine and its partner countries need closer cooperation in security and defense and called on partners to prepare strong decisions for the meeting.

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