The European Commission’s annual report on Turkey, published on Wednesday, again links progress in EU-Turkey relations to a resumption of Cyprus talks, and makes the connection twice. The government’s assessment is that the report makes clear the future of those relations depends on the Cyprus problem.
Compared with previous reports, Nicosia identifies three new elements: the appointment of Raffaele Fitto as EU Special Representative for the Cyprus problem, the reference to a gas pipeline memorandum signed between Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side, and Turkey’s failure to align with EU foreign policy.
The Turkey report is part of the Commission’s Annual Enlargement Package, released on 4 November. In the government’s reading, its position is unchanged: Turkey remains a candidate country, but the reasons its accession negotiations were frozen still stand.
The Cyprus problem as a condition
The report repeats that EU-Turkey relations will develop in a phased, proportionate and reversible way. That wording comes from the European Council’s conclusions of April 2024, which Nicosia regards as a hard-won position and wants preserved.
The Commission says a resumption of negotiations could open new prospects for cooperation. The wording is positive, but the government reads a clear message to Ankara: better relations with the EU depend on Cyprus.
The report reaffirms a settlement based on a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, in line with Security Council resolutions, EU principles and the EU acquis. It notes that Turkey is promoting a ‘two-state’ solution in direct contradiction of those resolutions, and stresses that the EU recognises only the Republic of Cyprus as a subject of international law.
Ankara is called on to actively support a fair, comprehensive and viable settlement, including its external aspects, and to avoid unilateral actions that could raise tensions or prevent talks from restarting.
The Commission also says Turkey uses the Organisation of Turkic States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation as platforms to legitimise the ‘TRNC’, undermining the climate needed for UN-led talks to resume.
Fitto’s role
Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto was appointed EU Special Representative for the Cyprus problem on 13 July 2026, with a mandate to support UN-led reunification efforts and help restart negotiations.
The EU says it is ready to play an active role at every stage of the process, using every means available. It fully backs the UN Secretary-General and his personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, as the Council did in December 2024. The government sees this as giving EU involvement an institutional footing.
Sovereignty and the Eastern Mediterranean
The report says Turkey is expected to commit clearly to good neighbourly relations, international agreements and the peaceful settlement of disputes, referring them to the International Court of Justice if necessary.
It sets out three specific obligations. Turkey must avoid threats and actions that damage good neighbourly relations, and normalise its relations with the Republic of Cyprus. It must also respect the sovereignty of all EU member states over their territorial waters and airspace, as well as all their sovereign rights.
Those rights, the report adds, include exploring and exploiting natural resources under EU and international law, in particular the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Elsewhere, it points out that Turkey is not a party to the convention.
The report refers to the memorandum of understanding Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side signed in July 2026 for an undersea natural gas pipeline, without the authorisation or consent of the government of the Republic of Cyprus.
It also cites the 2019 Turkey-Libya memorandum on maritime zones, which the Benghazi-based parliament ratified in October 2026. The EU considers it void and without legal effect for third countries.
The report further records Turkish military exercises in Cyprus’s maritime zones, drone flights in the Nicosia FIR and Cyprus’s national airspace, harassment of Cypriot fishing boats, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by Turkey.
The Commission calls on Ankara to avoid actions that could undermine stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, a region it describes as strategically important for EU security and stability. The EU, it adds, remains committed to defending its own interests and those of its member states, and to safeguarding regional stability.
Foreign policy alignment and democratic backsliding
Turkey’s alignment with the EU High Representative’s statements and EU sanctions decisions stood at just 4 per cent on 1 September 2026, compared with 3 per cent in 2025. Ankara still does not apply sanctions against Russia. For the government, the figure answers those who present Turkey as an indispensable EU partner in foreign policy and defence.
Beyond the Cyprus problem, the Commission expresses serious concern at Turkey’s continued backsliding on democracy, the rule of law, judicial independence and fundamental rights, and speaks of a widening gap between Ankara’s stated goal of EU membership and its actions.
Arrests and prosecutions of elected officials, opposition figures, journalists and activists intensified in 2026, and legal action now also targets the main opposition party.
Unmet obligations and Varosha
The report records that Turkey still does not recognise or cooperate with the Republic of Cyprus, including on security matters, and blocks Cyprus from joining or chairing international organisations.
Turkey has not met its obligations under the declaration of 21 September 2005 or the Council conclusions of December 2006 and 2015, and does not apply the Additional Protocol to the Association Agreement fully and without discrimination.
Its ports remain closed to ships flying the Cypriot flag or with Cypriot interests, and to ships whose last port of call was Cyprus. Cargo to or from the island is also barred.
The Commission says that while these restrictions remain, Turkey cannot fully apply the EU transport acquis. In aviation, poor communication between air traffic control centres affects flight safety in the Nicosia FIR.
On Varosha, the Commission calls for full respect of its status under resolutions 550, 789 and 1251, and urges Ankara to reverse immediately the steps it announced on 20 July 2021 and all measures taken since October 2020. It notes that Turkey has not reversed the opening of the fenced-off area, which it says has further entrenched the situation on the ground.
Next step in December
The report now goes to the relevant Council working party, which will draft the conclusions on enlargement. The General Affairs Council is expected to approve them in December.
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