BERLIN

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday called for a closer and “future-oriented” cooperation between the European Union and Türkiye.

“Türkiye is not always an easy partner, but it is definitely an important strategic partner,” Scholz told reporters at the end of a two-day EU summit in Brussels.

“This applies to many questions that we have to discuss with each other, that is why we also need a future-oriented perspective,” he said, adding that Germany would support this process.

“Good cooperation is in the interest of both sides, and this is particularly true when it comes to the further development of the customs union, its modernization, as well as cooperation on migration, which is so important for us,” he stressed.

Scholz said European leaders have had in-depth discussions about the future of EU-Türkiye relations, and expressed hope that there would be progress in Cyprus settlement, with the expected resumption of UN-led talks on a lasting solution for the island.

Türkiye applied for the EU membership in 1987 and has been a candidate country since 1999.

Ankara’s EU membership negotiations started in 2005, but entered into a stalemate after 2007 due to the Cyprus problem and opposition by several member states to Türkiye’s full membership.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year when Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

France’s opposition to Türkiye’s full membership, political conditions imposed by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, remain major stumbling blocks in Türkiye’s EU accession process.