The European Council President, António Costa, will travel to Ankara on 7 and 8 July to attend a NATO summit leaders’ dinner and meet Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Costa is due to attend the leaders’ dinner on Tuesday, with the meeting with Erdoğan scheduled for Wednesday, the European Council announced on Monday.
NATO’s summit discussions are expected to cover defence investment, industrial production, support for Ukraine and broader regional issues.
“A stronger Europe means a stronger NATO,” Costa said, adding that higher defence investment “translates into real capabilities, a more resilient defence industry, and greater readiness.”
The Council said NATO remains the basis of collective defence for its members, while European defence efforts that complement NATO are “essential”.
It added the EU and NATO together represent more than one billion people, and that 23 of the EU’s 27 member states are also in the alliance.
Talks with Erdoğan
Costa and von der Leyen’s meeting with Erdoğan will focus on EU — Turkey bilateral relations, the European Council said.
The discussions are expected to include the implementation of a Joint Communication on EU — Turkey political, economic and trade relations adopted in November 2023.
The leaders are also set to discuss the regional situation, including United Nations-led diplomatic efforts to resolve the Cyprus dispute.
The EU is Turkey’s top trading partner and Turkey is the EU’s seventh biggest, with trade between them totalling €198.1 billion in 2022.
