EU chiefs raise ‘deep worries’ over rights in Turkey with Erdogan
3 years, 9 months ago

EU chiefs raise ‘deep worries’ over rights in Turkey with Erdogan

Al Jazeera  

EU says it wants better ties with Ankara as top officials meet with Turkey’s president, but human rights the ‘priority’. The European Union’s top two officials expressed “deep worries” about human rights in Turkey while voicing hope for stronger ties during their first meeting in a year with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, meanwhile, said human rights issues were a “crucial” element for better Turkey-EU ties as Ankara and Brussels eye a possible warming of relations in the wake of conciliatory moves from both sides in recent weeks. “Turkey must respect international human rights rules and standards, to which by the way the country has committed itself as a founding member of the Council of Europe.” Erdogan did not address reporters but his office issued a statement reaffirming Turkey’s position that it wanted the EU “to take concrete steps to support a positive agenda”. Von der Leyen said on Tuesday that the European Commission will soon make a proposal of support to Turkey over funding for migrants and refugees, adding that Europe wants “much better relations” with Ankara but that it is “still early”.

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History of this topic

Turkey's Erdogan calls for reinforced trust before trip to neighbour Greece
1 year, 1 month ago

Turkey's Erdogan calls for reinforced trust before trip to neighbour Greece

Firstpost  

Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed in July to resume talks and confidence-building measures as they hailed a new, “positive climate” in ties after more than a year of tensions over energy resources and defence issues. “There is no problem we cannot solve through dialogue based on mutual goodwill,” Erdogan told Kathimerini newspaper in an interview, a day …

Ankara slams EU report on Turkey’s membership bid as unjust and biased
1 year, 2 months ago

Ankara slams EU report on Turkey’s membership bid as unjust and biased

Al Jazeera  

The report on Turkey’s progress towards meeting standards for EU membership says Ankara is ‘backsliding’. The report, published on Wednesday by the EU’s executive arm, accused Ankara of “serious backsliding” on democratic standards, the rule of law, human rights and judicial independence. The Turkish ministry said the allegations were unfair and highlighted “the insincerity of EU’s approach and a clear …

Analysis: Is Turkey’s bid for EU membership over?
1 year, 3 months ago

Analysis: Is Turkey’s bid for EU membership over?

Al Jazeera  

Tensions between the sides flare again as Erdogan signals parting ways with the bloc after a rough European Parliament report. The EP resolution adopted a report published by the European Commission last year and said that Turkey’s EU accession process “cannot be resumed” without a “drastic change of course” by Ankara. “It would be hard to get the necessary support …

Erdogan says Turkey may part ways with the EU. He implied the country could end its membership bid
1 year, 3 months ago

Erdogan says Turkey may part ways with the EU. He implied the country could end its membership bid

Associated Press  

ISTANBUL — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Turkey may part ways with the European Union, implying that the country is thinking about ending its bid to join the 27-nation bloc. “The EU is making efforts to sever ties with Turkey,” he told reporters before departing for the 78th U.N. General Assembly in New York. “We will evaluate the …

Turkey may part ways with EU if necessary: Erdogan
1 year, 3 months ago

Turkey may part ways with EU if necessary: Erdogan

Firstpost  

Turkish membership in the EU has been an official candidate for 24 years, but recent stagnation in the admission process is due to EU worries about abuses of human rights and respect for the rule of law When asked about the details of a European Parliament report on Turkey on Saturday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated that Ankara may “part …

Turkey asks the EU to take bold steps to advance its membership bid, while the EU urges reforms
1 year, 4 months ago

Turkey asks the EU to take bold steps to advance its membership bid, while the EU urges reforms

Associated Press  

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s top diplomat on Wednesday affirmed his country’s resolve to join the European Union and urged the 27-member bloc to take courageous steps to advance its bid. “The European Union cannot be a truly global actor without Turkey,” Fidan said. The negotiations, however, came to a standstill in 2018 over Turkey’s democratic backsliding and erosion of the …

Turkey’s pledge of support for Sweden’s NATO entry is tied to goals on security and EU membership
1 year, 5 months ago

Turkey’s pledge of support for Sweden’s NATO entry is tied to goals on security and EU membership

Associated Press  

ISTANBUL — Turkey made a surprise pledge to drop its opposition to Sweden joining NATO, paving the way for the Nordic country to become a member of the Western military alliance. Ustum described Turkey’s statements over the Quran-burnings as “a tool in the negotiations.” adding that “for Turkey it was mainly about terrorist organizations.” TURKEY WANTS F-16 FIGHTER JETS FROM …

Why Turkey changed its stance on Sweden’s NATO membership
1 year, 6 months ago

Why Turkey changed its stance on Sweden’s NATO membership

Al Jazeera  

Ankara supports Stockholm’s bid after it receives backing on key conditions that range from buying US F-16s to visa-free travel to Europe’s Schengen area. However, Turkey also sought a general normalisation and improvement in its relations with the EU countries and the US in general through Sweden’s process, using it as a peg,” Dalay told Al Jazeera. According to a …

Turkey warns it can ‘freeze’ Sweden, Finland’s NATO process
2 years, 5 months ago

Turkey warns it can ‘freeze’ Sweden, Finland’s NATO process

Associated Press  

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey can still “freeze” Sweden and Finland’s membership in NATO unless the two countries take steps that meet Ankara’s security demands, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday. Last month, Turkey lifted its objection to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance but warned that it would block the process if they fail to extradite suspects with links …

Turkish president: Sweden hasn’t alleviated NATO concerns
2 years, 6 months ago

Turkish president: Sweden hasn’t alleviated NATO concerns

Associated Press  

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Sweden’s prime minister that he has not seen any “tangible” moves to address Turkey’s concerns about her country joining NATO, Erdogan’s office said Saturday. Erdogan called in a phone conversation with Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson for “binding commitments” from Sweden, as well as a “concrete change of attitude” in the country’s …

Turkey wants ‘concrete steps’ from Sweden, Finland over NATO bids
2 years, 6 months ago

Turkey wants ‘concrete steps’ from Sweden, Finland over NATO bids

Al Jazeera  

Turkish president says no progress can be achieved in the process without seeing ‘concrete steps’ by both countries. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says steps should be taken to address Ankara’s “legitimate” concerns over the NATO bids of Finland and Sweden. According to a statement by Turkey’s Communications Directorate on Wednesday, Erdogan told NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in a phone …

EU accuses Turkey of ‘backsliding’ on reforms to join bloc
3 years, 2 months ago

EU accuses Turkey of ‘backsliding’ on reforms to join bloc

Al Jazeera  

The European Union’s executive body has said that Turkey’s bid to join the bloc had “come to a standstill” amid serious democratic shortfalls in its annual report, which was slammed by the Turkish foreign ministry as making “baseless claims”. Turkey’s foreign ministry said the report showed a “double-standard approach” by the EU and rejected the “unfair criticisms and baseless claims”. …

Germany, Turkey seek better EU-Turkish ties as tensions ease
3 years, 11 months ago

Germany, Turkey seek better EU-Turkish ties as tensions ease

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The German and Turkish top diplomats on Monday sought to …

Erdogan says Turkey sees itself a part of Europe
4 years, 1 month ago

Erdogan says Turkey sees itself a part of Europe

Live Mint  

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that his country, an official candidate for European Union membership, sees itself as an inseparable part of Europe but will not give in to attacks and double standards. "We see ourselves as an inseparable part of Europe.However this does not mean that we will bow down to overt attacks to our country and …

Turkey hopes for new refugee deal with EU before March 26
4 years, 10 months ago

Turkey hopes for new refugee deal with EU before March 26

Al Jazeera  

Foreign Minister Cavusoglu says Ankara ready to work constructively to reach agreement with bloc before next EU summit. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said a 2016 refugee deal between Turkey and the European Union needs to be updated, expressing Ankara’s hopes to reach a new agreement in time for a summit of the bloc’s leaders later this month. In …

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