The European Commission has adopted tougher language on Turkey in this year’s report on Ankara’s accession path, explicitly describing the Turkey-Libya memorandum as ‘null and void’.
As Kathimerini notes, the report, published today alongside the annual enlargement package, records Turkey’s continued obstruction of research activities for the Greece-Cyprus electricity interconnector.
At the same time, the Commission highlights outstanding issues concerning the rights of the Greek minority and the rule of law in Albania, as well as the need for North Macedonia to implement the Prespa Agreement.
This year’s report on Turkey uses the description ‘null and void’ for the Turkey-Libya memorandum. In effect, it refers to the recent joint statement by the presidents of the Commission and the European Council, following its ratification by the parliament of eastern Libya in October. The Commission reiterates the EU’s longstanding position that the memorandum violates the sovereign rights of third countries, is incompatible with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce legal effects for third countries.
The Commission also reiterates that the Turkish threat of war (casus belli), issued in 1995 in response to a possible extension of Greece’s territorial waters in the Aegean, remains in force. It again records claims that Greek islands should be demilitarised, which, according to the Commission, indirectly challenge Greek sovereignty.
The report also includes Ankara’s reactions to the deployment of Greek Patriots in the Aegean and F-16s in Cyprus, as well as its objections to Greek marine parks and maritime spatial planning.
It also records an increase in overflights by Turkish military aircraft over Greek islands, including inhabited ones, with related incidents reported in September 2026.
In its chapter on energy, the Commission notes that Turkey ‘continued to obstruct’ research activities for the Great Sea Interconnector, a project of common European interest.
At the same time, however, Ankara remains a key partner for the EU on migration, connectivity and regional security, despite a further deterioration in democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights.
As a European official noted, Turkey’s alignment with the EU’s common foreign policy remains extremely low, at just 4%, up from 3% previously, despite an increase in consultations on regional and international security issues. The Commission advocates gradual, proportionate and reversible cooperation in areas of mutual interest, with good-neighbourly relations and a resolution of the Cyprus issue remaining fundamental conditions.