EU's Tusk meets Erdoğan days before EU-Turkey summit
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted European Council President Donald Tusk at Yıldız Palace's Mabeyn Mansion in Istanbul on Friday afternoon to discuss the refugee action plan and Turkey-European Union relations.
The meeting came a day after Tusk met with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, in which both sides stressed their determination to stick to the deal that was signed between Turkey and the EU. Turkey will meet the leaders of the 28 EU member states on March 7 for a wide-ranging summit on the worst refugee and migrant crisis facing Europe since World War II. Davutoğlu is expected to attend the meeting as well.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Tusk in Ankara on Thursday afternoon, Davutoğlu said Turkey had taken solid steps to fulfill the EU's requirements for the visa-free travel agreement that would allow Turkish citizens to travel to the Schengen zone without obtaining a visa. Tusk said that their aim is to decrease the number of migrants coming illegally, which is becoming a continuous situation, the importance of which cannot be dictated by the numbers of refugees arriving in the EU. "Both Turkey and the EU are working hard on the issue. We need a bit more time," he said.
Commenting on the refugee crisis that troubles Turkey and the EU, Davutoğlu said the Syrian leader Bashar Assad's regime and terrorist organizations that erupted on the scene due to the chaos in the country are the source of the refugee crisis. "It is the EU and Turkey that are paying the price of this. Turkey and the EU pay great importance to the cease-fire. Unfortunately, violations make the truce fragile" he said.
Turkey will meet the EU's 28 leaders on March 7 for a wide-ranging summit on the worst refugee and migrant crisis facing Europe since World War II. Davutoğlu is expected to attend the meeting.
With more than 2.5 million refugees, the most in the world, Turkey is a major transit country for refugees and migrants seeking to enter Europe over the Aegean route.
Under the refugee action plan, the EU agreed to offer 3 billion euros to Ankara to meet the needs of refugees in Turkey, visa liberalization for Turkish citizens and speeding up EU accession talks in exchange for Turkey stemming the flow of refugees seeking to enter Europe by leaving Turkey for Greece.
The meeting came a day after Tusk met with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, in which both sides stressed their determination to stick to the deal that was signed between Turkey and the EU. Turkey will meet the leaders of the 28 EU member states on March 7 for a wide-ranging summit on the worst refugee and migrant crisis facing Europe since World War II. Davutoğlu is expected to attend the meeting as well.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Tusk in Ankara on Thursday afternoon, Davutoğlu said Turkey had taken solid steps to fulfill the EU's requirements for the visa-free travel agreement that would allow Turkish citizens to travel to the Schengen zone without obtaining a visa. Tusk said that their aim is to decrease the number of migrants coming illegally, which is becoming a continuous situation, the importance of which cannot be dictated by the numbers of refugees arriving in the EU. "Both Turkey and the EU are working hard on the issue. We need a bit more time," he said.
Commenting on the refugee crisis that troubles Turkey and the EU, Davutoğlu said the Syrian leader Bashar Assad's regime and terrorist organizations that erupted on the scene due to the chaos in the country are the source of the refugee crisis. "It is the EU and Turkey that are paying the price of this. Turkey and the EU pay great importance to the cease-fire. Unfortunately, violations make the truce fragile" he said.
Turkey will meet the EU's 28 leaders on March 7 for a wide-ranging summit on the worst refugee and migrant crisis facing Europe since World War II. Davutoğlu is expected to attend the meeting.
With more than 2.5 million refugees, the most in the world, Turkey is a major transit country for refugees and migrants seeking to enter Europe over the Aegean route.
Under the refugee action plan, the EU agreed to offer 3 billion euros to Ankara to meet the needs of refugees in Turkey, visa liberalization for Turkish citizens and speeding up EU accession talks in exchange for Turkey stemming the flow of refugees seeking to enter Europe by leaving Turkey for Greece.
Last Update: March 04, 2016 21:02