Erdogan: Membership of the European Union is one of our political priorities
Turkish President Rajab Tayyip Erdogan stressed that joining the European Union is one of the political priorities for Ankara, which sees its future in the European family.
This came in a meeting with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Saturday, via closed-circuit television, according to a statement by the Turkish Presidency’s Communication Department.
Erdogan referred to the importance of resuming the periodic summits between Turkey and the European Union, indicating that the high-level meetings would benefit both parties.
Erdogan attributed the decline in relations between the two sides in 2020 to “the whims of some members of the European Union and their fabrication of artificial problems,” noting that this matter not only affects the future of bilateral relations, but also a large and shared geographical area between the two sides.
And he indicated that the first step that must be started in relations is to update the Turkish-European agreement (readmission agreement) signed on March 18, 2016, explaining that 2021 provides an opportunity for fruitful cooperation between the two sides regarding immigration.
He stressed the need to take steps regarding the modernization of the customs union agreement and the lifting of entry visas to the Union countries for Turkish citizens and Turkey’s membership in the European family.
He pointed to the importance of re -establishing trust between the two sides, activating consultation mechanisms, and putting an end to the discourse and acts of exclusion and discrimination towards Turkey, which goes beyond describing it as a neighboring country to a candidate country.
The two sides also discussed ways to develop bilateral relations and the latest developments in the regional arena.
It is noteworthy that European leaders, during their summit last December, asked Borrell and the European Commission to prepare a report for the next summit (next March) on the status of Turkish-European relations and options on how to proceed with them.
It is expected that Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Brussels on January 21.
Source: Agencies
