President Erdogan says geopolitical shifts highlight need for closer Türkiye-EU ties

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that recent regional developments have once again highlighted the geopolitical importance of Türkiye-European Union relations, stressing that updating the Customs Union in line with current conditions is "a key area necessitating swift progress" on the path toward Türkiye's full EU membership.

The president made these remarks during a meeting with Belgian Queen Mathilde in Istanbul. The talks covered Türkiye-Belgium bilateral relations as well as regional and global issues, according to Türkiye's Communications Directorate.

"President Erdogan also underlined that Türkiye's participation in the EU's defense initiatives is in the mutual interest of all sides," the directorate said on US social media platform X.

Erdogan further said Türkiye and Belgium hold significant potential for cooperation in a broad range of fields, including trade, the defense industry, energy and agriculture, adding that efforts to further strengthen bilateral ties would continue.

Highlighting Türkiye's increasingly prominent diplomatic role internationally, Erdogan said the country will host the NATO leaders summit in Ankara on July 7-8 and the COP31 climate conference on Nov. 9-20 this year.

The Turkish president noted that the green energy transition represents an important area of cooperation with Belgium, emphasizing that Türkiye is among Europe's leading countries in installed renewable energy capacity.

During the meeting, Erdogan also expressed hope that Queen Mathilde's contacts with Turkish business circles would produce concrete outcomes.