Key facts
- The European Commission said the gap between Turkey's EU membership goal and its record on political criteria had widened further.
- Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the report's findings were baseless and showed double standards.
- The Commission said legal action against elected officials, opposition figures and civil society raised concerns about democratic principles.
- Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the report's criticism of a Turkey-Libya maritime delimitation agreement was null and void.
Turkey's Foreign Ministry rejected the European Commission's annual enlargement policy report on November 4, 2026, calling its findings baseless and saying they showed double standards, Reuters reported.
The Commission's report said the gap between Turkey's declared objective of joining the EU and its backsliding on the fundamental political criteria for accession had widened further. It said the factors behind the standstill in accession negotiations in 2018 remained unaddressed. The report said legal action by Turkish authorities against elected officials, opposition figures and civil society had raised concerns about Ankara's adherence to core democratic principles.
The ministry said it rejected the baseless allegations in the report, particularly those concerning political criteria and the areas of judiciary and fundamental rights. It said the report's findings on Cyprus defended the maximalist positions of Greece and the internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government, and were detached from reality and inconsistent with international law. The ministry also said the report's criticism of a maritime delimitation agreement between Turkey and Libya was null and void.