With the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan and a return to open conflict in Europe, foreign policy cooperation between the EU and Turkey in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has assumed even greater relevance and urgency. While tensions have subsided somewhat since 2020, the Turkey-EU relationship remains contentious and even conflictual as disagreements over key foreign policy files have mixed with domestic politics in both Turkey and certain European states to add further strain to the bilateral relationship.