Turkey Accused of Blackmail as Erdogan Hardens Line Against Europe
Turkey Accused of Blackmail as Erdogan Hardens Line Against Europe
The Turkish President has reacted angrily to the European Commission after it insisted his government make changes to highly controversial anti-terror laws, as a condition of proposed visa-free travel in the EU.
In a speech in the city of Malatya, Turkey’s President Erdogan said:
“On the question of visas, let those who call on Turkey to modify its anti-terrorism law start by removing tents set up by the terrorists at the doors of the European Parliament.”
His comments are in reference to the presence of a group of Kurdish activists who protested in Brussels during March 2016.
Visa relaxation between the EU and Turkey has often been touted as a likely precursor to the country’s accession as a member state of the EU, a process over which President Erdogan has a surprising amount of leverage. This is because of Turkey’s agreement to take in huge numbers of refugees fleeing to Europe. With that in mind, refusals to alter Turkey’s anti-terror laws have been described as blackmail by European Council President Donald Tusk.
As Margaret Owen told Sputnik, Turkey has form on refusing to adhere to EU requirements, despite being a signatory to the EU Convention of Human rights:
“There’s something called the Copenhagen Criteria, which are the conditions that states must comply with in order to be able to be accepted into the European Union, and Turkey has not complied with them.”
The EU-Turkey visa deal will need to be approved by 28 member states, and is technically contingent on a number of criteria on which Turkey falls short. However, Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to rescind any obligations regarding the refugee crisis, should the promised visa relaxation not go ahead.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160509/1039311152/erdogan-europe-blackmail.html#ixzz48ATaubTJ
