European Countries Threaten to Block Acceleration of Turkish EU Talks
Turkey’s withdrawal from the migrant deal with the EU would have “ruinous” consequences for Europe, Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano stated, Sputnik News reported.
According to him, if Turkey opens the gates, it will be something ruinous for the entire Europe.
“International attention and concern should be high,” Italian Interior Minister told Repubblica, emphasizing that migration is becoming a “monstrous weapon of pressure,” including in diplomatic relations between countries.
Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz in turn threatened to block the expansion of negotiations with Turkey on its accession to the European Union, which could scupper a landmark migration deal between Brussels and Ankara.
Talks on Turkish accession to the EU began in 2005, but only one out of 35 “chapters”, or policy areas where Turkey must adopt and implement EU rules, has been concluded.
“I have a seat and a vote in the (EU) foreign ministers’ council. There the question is whether new negotiation chapters will be opened with Turkey, and I am against it,” Kurz said in an interview with Austrian daily Kurier, threatening to block the unanimous agreement required by the council.
“The criteria for visa liberalisation will not be fulfilled by Turkey. And the requirements for accession talks have not been met,” Kurz said. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday accession talks were “as good as deadlocked” but he rejected calls to halt them entirely saying the bloc needed to think more broadly about how to frame its ties with Ankara.
German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel in turn said Turkey was unlikely to join the EU for decades. “I don’t believe that Turkey in the foreseeable future – and I’m talking about the next 10, 20 years – has the chance to become an EU member.''
The matter is that Turkey's plans to join the EU has been undermined by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's suggestion that he may allow reintroduction of the death penalty after the attempted putsch.
Besides, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara would back out of the refugee agreement with the EU if the bloc did not deliver visa-free travel.
Erdogan himself also responded to the ministers' statements telling that EU is not fulfilling the promises it gave to Turkey and that it’s high time EU abandoned the policy of double standards.
"The EU's fooling us around for over 53 years. We methodically prove our honesty and expect the same from the EU. It needs to abandon the policy of double standards", – Erdogan said.
Thus we can see that the policy of mutual threats continues between Turkey and EU member countries, which can not but to further decrease trust between them.
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