Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski’s remarks highlight Turkey’s growing strategic and institutional integration within Europe—suggesting it now plays a more vital, interconnected role in European security and politics than even post-Brexit Britain.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has consistently emphasized Turkey’s deepening engagement with Europe’s political and security structures, portraying it as a pivotal bridge between the EU and NATO. Despite its long-stalled EU membership process, Turkey’s active participation in defense cooperation, energy corridors, migration management, and diplomacy has effectively embedded it in the European system. Compared with the United Kingdom—whose Brexit has distanced it institutionally—Turkey appears increasingly integrated into Europe’s strategic core. Sikorski’s perspective positions Turkey not merely as an accession candidate but as a de facto European power, central to the continent’s future stability and cooperation.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has in recent years emphasized that Turkey is becoming an increasingly central actor in Europe’s security and integration architecture. Across his public statements, Sikorski has underlined Turkey’s growing strategic relevance within both the European Union (EU) and NATO frameworks. These remarks suggest that Turkey today plays a more functional role in the European system—one that, in some respects, may be more deeply embedded than that of the post-Brexit United Kingdom.
New Dynamics in Turkey–EU Relations
Although Turkey’s formal accession process with the EU has long remained stagnant, recent developments have brought the country back to the heart of Europe’s security agenda. Following a 2025 meeting in Brussels, Sikorski stated that Turkey “now acts as a more visible bridge within the Euro-Atlantic security framework.”¹
This perspective reflects a broader shift: Turkey’s relationship with the EU is no longer defined solely by membership negotiations but increasingly by cooperation in security, energy, migration, and defense. The Polish Embassy in Ankara has also highlighted Turkey’s strategic importance on NATO’s southeastern flank, reaffirming Warsaw’s support for a stronger Turkish role within Europe’s strategic order.²
Turkey and the United Kingdom: A Comparative Perspective on Integration
The United Kingdom’s departure from the EU (Brexit) has reshaped how European integration is conceived. By contrast, Turkey—still a candidate country—has emerged as an indispensable component of Europe’s security and political landscape. Sikorski has observed that Turkey has become “a vital participant in the European security and energy architecture.”³
Unlike the UK, whose institutional ties to the EU have largely diminished, Turkey continues to engage directly with EU mechanisms through its customs union membership, its defense industry cooperation, migration management, and its role in regional energy corridors. These structural linkages mean that Turkey, while not a member state, remains deeply enmeshed in the European system.
From this angle, Turkey represents a new model of “non-member integration,” in which participation and interdependence replace formal membership. Sikorski’s commentary implies that such a model could even guide the EU’s future approach to strategic partners beyond its borders.
Geopolitical Position and Strategic Function
Geographically positioned between Europe and Asia, Turkey serves as a pivotal bridge in global geopolitics. Sikorski has repeatedly highlighted Turkey’s balancing role—particularly in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict—emphasizing Ankara’s ability to maintain open channels with both the West and the East.⁴
He has also underscored Turkey’s significance not only as a military ally but also as a diplomatic actor capable of stabilizing Europe’s peripheries. Through mediation efforts, energy cooperation, and crisis management, Turkey has proven to be an indispensable “balancing power” within the broader European neighborhood.
Conclusion
Sikorski’s assessments reveal that Turkey’s place in the European order extends well beyond the traditional framework of EU accession. Through its role in NATO, its expanding cooperation with the EU, and its strategic capacity in energy and defense, Turkey has become a de facto partner in Europe’s political and security landscape.
For this reason, some observers have inferred that Turkey is, in practical terms, “more integrated into Europe than the United Kingdom.” While Sikorski never used this phrase verbatim, the overall thrust of his statements supports such an interpretation: Turkey has become an essential actor in shaping Europe’s strategic and security future.
Footnotes
- Murat Yetkin, “Security is the new dynamic in EU-Turkish relations,” Yetkin Report, 9 Mayıs 2025. https://yetkinreport.com/en/2025/05/09/security-is-the-new-dynamic-in-eu-turkish-relations/
- Judy Dempsey, “Can Poland and Turkey Revamp Europe?” Carnegie Europe, Kasım 2013. https://carnegieendowment.org/europe/strategic-europe/2013/11/can-poland-and-turkey-revamp-europe?lang=en
- “Turkey’s longest friend, Poland urges combat against corruption,” Hürriyet Daily News, 5 Şubat 2014. https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-longest-friend-poland-urges-combat-against-corruption–62022
- “Minister Radosław Sikorski’s phone calls with foreign ministers of Finland, Denmark and Türkiye,” Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 28 Aralık 2023. https://www.gov.pl/web/diplomacy/minister-radoslaw-sikorskis-phone-calls-with-foreign-ministers-of-finland-denmark-and-trkiye
- “Poland sees important role for Türkiye on European security,” Hürriyet Daily News, 1 Mayıs 2025. https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/poland-sees-important-role-for-turkiye-on-european-security-208683
- Karol Wasilewski, “Poland’s Security and Turkey: Apart and Yet Together,” CATS Network Paper No. 16, 11 Haziran 2025. https://www.cats-network.eu/assets/cats/CATS_Network_Paper__Briefs/CATS_Network_Paper_No._16_11.06.2025.pdf
- “Informal meeting of foreign affairs ministers – Gymnich,” Polish Presidency of EU Council, tarih belirtilmemiş. https://polish-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/en/events/informal-meeting-of-foreign-affairs-ministers-gymnich-7-85/
