ANKARA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Ministry on late Tuesday criticized the latest EU report on Turkey, saying the bloc is unwilling to understand the difficulties Turkey is facing.

Unfortunately, the European Commission is once again unwilling to understand the difficulties of the period we are passing through, a written statement released by the ministry said.

The statement complained that the Commission was "unable to be objective and balanced."

Turkey's operation against several terrorism organizations also contributes to the security of EU member states, it stressed.

The European Commission on Tuesday published the latest progress report which criticized Turkey for moving rapidly away from the path of EU membership. It also called for the lifting of its state of emergency, but praised the country's humanitarian efforts for the nearly 4 million refugees it hosts within its borders.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag hit back the EU report for not treating Turkey "fairly or objectively," saying that the report of the EU did not mask its unfairness towards Turkey.