German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has described Turkey as a “close partner” of the European Union and signalled an intention to deepen economic and political ties during his first official visit to Ankara on Thursday, 30 October.
Standing alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Palace, Merz said Berlin would work to “smooth the way to Europe” for Ankara while pursuing practical cooperation on trade, transport and migration.
Merz’s remarks mark an early effort by his government to stabilise relations after years of strain over rule-of-law concerns, Syria-related migration pressures and defence export restrictions. Beyond the broad pledge of partnership, the Chancellor said Germany aims to expand sectoral links, naming transport as an immediate focus for investment and supply-chain connectivity between the EU and Turkey.
Migration featured prominently in the talks. Merz said both sides wanted to accelerate returns of people whose asylum claims in Germany have been rejected, framing this as part of a wider attempt to manage irregular migration through cooperation with key transit and host countries. Berlin has sought to increase the number and speed of repatriations this year, arguing that credible returns are necessary to sustain public support for protection of those with a legal right to stay. Turkish officials, for their part, have long called for greater burden-sharing and funding for refugee support, given the country’s role hosting millions of Syrians and acting as a major route to the EU.
Defence and security were also on the agenda. Erdogan used the joint press event to urge Germany to “leave behind problems” in defence procurement and to focus instead on joint projects, citing Europe’s changing security environment. His message follows discussions about Turkey’s acquisition of Eurofighter Typhoon jets and wider industry cooperation within NATO frameworks. While Merz did not announce specific new programmes, the rhetoric from both capitals pointed to a pragmatic reset aimed at interoperability and industrial collaboration.
The meeting underscored areas of political disagreement as well. Erdogan sharply criticised Germany’s stance on the Gaza conflict, accusing Berlin of overlooking what he called Israel’s “genocide” and asserting that Israel enjoys military advantages that Palestinians do not. Merz reiterated Germany’s historic support for Israel’s security while acknowledging differences over the conduct of the war.
For the EU, closer alignment with Turkey offers immediate utility: cooperation on migration control, energy transit, customs-union modernisation and resilience of supply chains that pass through the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean. For Turkey, the benefits include improved access to European markets and finance, potential progress on visa facilitation, and a route back into structured dialogue with the bloc after a long period of stalled accession prospects. Merz’s language on “smoothing the way to Europe” fell well short of a revival of accession talks, but it reflected a preference for incremental, technical agreements that deliver visible gains.
Any reset will be tested by familiar friction points. EU member states have raised concerns over the independence of the judiciary and treatment of political opponents in Turkey. Ankara, meanwhile, has criticised European export controls and what it sees as insufficient recognition of Turkey’s security priorities in Syria and the Eastern Mediterranean. Analysts in Berlin and Ankara expect the two governments to prioritise what they consider “doable” packages—on readmissions, transport links and industrial cooperation—while managing disputes through quieter channels.
Business groups in both countries have lobbied for upgrades to the 1995 EU–Turkey customs union to cover services, public procurement and dispute settlement. Although there was no announcement in Ankara, Merz’s emphasis on the transport sector and supply-chain efficiency suggests a willingness to back technical steps—such as easing road haulage quotas, modernising border infrastructure and digitising customs procedures—that can be undertaken without a full treaty overhaul. German companies remain among Turkey’s largest investors, and trade volumes have recovered after recent currency volatility.
On migration, any acceleration of returns will depend on operational arrangements and political trade-offs. EU capitals have previously tied readmission cooperation to progress on visa facilitation for Turkish citizens and to funding for refugee support programmes in Turkey. The Merz government’s ability to show measurable outcomes—more charter flights for returns, faster processing times, and reduced secondary movements—will shape the domestic debate in Germany over asylum policy through the winter. Ankara will look for concrete economic incentives in parallel.
The visit closed with both leaders presenting the engagement as the start of a more pragmatic phase. Merz’s message was that Europe cannot pursue its security, economic and migration objectives without structured partnership with Turkey; Erdogan’s was that cooperation should extend to defence industrial projects and be insulated from wider geopolitical disputes. The practical test now lies in whether Berlin and Ankara can translate accommodating language into a sequence of workable, mutually acceptable deals over the coming months.
