EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas holds talks in Ankara ahead of NATO summit

Security partnership and accession impasse

EU accession negotiations with Turkey have been practically frozen since 2018. The reason given is that Turkey has moved away from accession requirements in central areas of the Copenhagen Criteria, including the rule of law and human rights. Despite the stalemate in accession talks, both EU circles and Turkey stated before the meeting that the visit should help strengthen relations between the two sides.

The meeting between Kallas and Erdogan took place behind closed doors, with the press excluded. The Ankara visit comes against a politically charged backdrop: a wide-ranging demonstration ban has been in effect in the Turkish capital since Sunday, and ahead of the NATO summit numerous arrests occurred in Ankara.

Amnesty criticism over rights situation

Amnesty International criticised the timing of the EU delegation's visit. The rights group noted "dass das Treffen der EU-Vertreter zu einem Zeitpunkt stattfinde, in der die türkischen Behörden Proteste verbieten und die Medienfreiheit einschränken" — that the meeting of EU representatives is taking place at a time when the Turkish authorities are banning protests and restricting media freedom.

Amnesty Turkey called on the EU representatives to advocate for the immediate release of all arbitrarily detained individuals. On X, the organisation wrote: "Wirtschaftspartnerschaften, bei denen Menschenrechte geopfert werden, können keine Antwort auf die geopolitischen Probleme unserer Zeit bieten" — "Economic partnerships in which human rights are sacrificed cannot offer an answer to the geopolitical problems of our time."

Strategic calculus ahead of the NATO summit

Kallas's framing of Turkey as a security partner sits in tension with the EU's longstanding concerns over the country's democratic trajectory. While she emphasised shared interests in migration, energy, and NATO's eastern defence, the rights group's intervention underscored that European engagement with Ankara continues to be measured against Turkish behaviour on fundamental freedoms.

The Ankara trip is the latest step in a renewed EU effort to keep lines of communication open with Turkey, even as the formal accession framework remains on hold. With the NATO summit opening in the same city within a week, the visit is also intended to coordinate positions on the alliance's agenda before leaders gather.