EU on diplomatic push to get migrant deal with Turkey into gear
by Daily Sabah with DHA
ISTANBULSep 07, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Daily Sabah with DHA
Sep 07, 2016 12:00 am
European Union officials have begun to visit Ankara with increased frequency so as to repair ties, which became strained after the July 15 failed coup attempt and the stalled process of visa liberalization for Turkish citizens to the bloc. As the EU pushes to keep its migrant deal with Ankara back on track, EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini is set to travel to Turkey on Friday with Johannes Hahn, the European commissioner for enlargement, to attend a High-Level Political Dialogue meeting between the EU and Turkey.
The EU's stance following the July 15 failed coup attempt, visa liberalization, negotiations between the union and Turkey for the latter's EU membership and Cyprus talks will be on the agenda of the meeting, according to sources.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently warned that Turkey's migration agreement with the EU may collapse if the union does not keep its side of the deal on visa waivers.
"If our demands are not satisfied, then readmissions [of migrants] will no longer be possible," Erdoğan said. In a March deal, Ankara agreed to stop migrants from crossing into Greece in exchange for financial aid for migrants, the promise of visa-free travel to much of the EU and accelerated membership talks. However, the reciprocal visa-free access has been delayed due to a dispute over Turkey's anti-terrorism laws, which the EU said must be eased before any agreement can be made.
But after meeting with European Parliament President Martin Schulz last week, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım made it clear that Ankara would make no change to the laws, further putting the migrant deal into question. Turkey reportedly accepted delaying the visa liberalization to the end of the year, instead of the previously announced Oct. 1.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will pay a visit to Strasbourg on Wednesday for the meeting of ministers' deputies aiming to hold an exchange of views.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will make his first visit to Turkey since a violent coup attempt rocked the key alliance member in July.
NATO said in a statement Tuesday that Stoltenberg will visit Ankara, the Turkish capital, on Thursday and Friday.
It said he will meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Defense Minister Fikri Işık and other high-level officials.
In the meantime, Erdoğan held a quartet meeting with French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in China. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that she was hopeful that the EU and Turkey will be able to resolve their differences over visa-free travel for Turks saying, "Discussions with the European Commission are very intensive and are continuing." Merkel's words came after a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, adding that "an agreement is likely still several weeks away." EU Minister Ömer Çelik made it clear that a readmission deal will not be put into practice if the EU does not give Turkey an exact date for visa liberalization. Speaking after the meeting with the EU's 28 foreign ministers in Bratislava, Slovakia on Saturday, Çelik said that Turkey and the EU will have to find new ways to tackle the influx of refugees if the situation deteriorates any further, underlining that Ankara will opt out of the readmission deal if the bloc does not approve visa-free travel for Turks.
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