Juncker says EU-Turkey deal won’t happen if Ankara doesn’t budge
A combative European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday that a landmark migrants deal between the EU and Turkey would collapse unless Ankara fulfilled its commitments, including making agreed changes to its anti-terror law.
”We fixed criteria for visa liberalization, there are 72 of them and number 65 says that the Turkish government must review the anti-terror law,” Juncker told a conference on Europe at the German foreign ministry.
”We are counting on this, we agreed this with the Turkish government and it can't be that the exit of the prime minister leads to agreements between the EU and Turkey being ignored,” he said, referring to the departure of Ahmet Davutoglu.
”We put great value in the conditions being met. Otherwise this deal, the agreement between the EU and Turkey, won't happen. If Mr. Erdogan decides to deny Turks the right to free travel to Europe, then he must explain this to the Turkish people. It will not be my problem, it will be his problem.”
[Reuters]
