Germany warns against collapse of EU-Turkey deal

BERLIN

The EU has strong interest in ensuring that its refugee deal with Turkey not collapse, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Thursday.

Speaking at a panel discussion in Berlin, Steinmeier stressed that cooperation with Turkey was necessary, despite ongoing differences between the EU and Ankara.

“We cannot ignore the fact that Turkey is a key country for stopping irregular refugee flows towards Europe, and therefore we need such agreements,” he said, in response to criticism by opposition parties.

Steinmeier stressed that the EU’s close cooperation with Turkey was not an obstacle for the EU to convey criticism and expectations to Ankara on issues of democracy, human rights or press freedom.

“One should also see that we have a strong interest to ensure that this agreement on migration not collapse,” he stressed.

The EU-Turkey agreement aims to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea and improve the conditions of Syrian refugees in Turkey through a 6-billion-euro ($6.8 billion) aid package.

The agreement also foresees the acceleration of Turkey’s EU membership bid and visa-free travel for Turkish nationals within the Schengen area, on the condition that Ankara meet five remaining requirements, out of an initial 72, set by the EU.

Steinmeier said the EU will stick to its promises and underlined that the realization of visa-free travel would depend on Turkey’s success in meeting all of the EU’s requirements.

He also argued that as part of the EU’s requirements, Turkey had to make changes in its anti-terror legislation and prevent persecution of journalists based on several paragraphs of the anti-terror law.

“The ball is in Turkey’s court,” he said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sharply criticized the EU on Thursday for demanding changes to Turkish anti-terror legislation -- one of the five remaining requirements -- before approving visa liberalization.

"Asking Turkey to revise its terror law means to give up," he said in his address at a public event in Ankara.

"You see the attitude from the European Union. They say we should loosen our grip on terror. Since when are you controlling Turkey, who gave you the order?" Erdogan asked.

Erdogan's growing criticism towards EU's demands for change in anti-terror legislation has led to speculation in the German media about the future of the EU-Turkey deal, which was hammered out by Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who stood down after calling an extraordinary party congress last week.

The EU and Turkey increased cooperation late last year and the implementation of the EU-Turkey action plan has significantly reduced flow of migrants.

In Germany, which accepted nearly 1.1 million asylum seekers last year, the number of refugees has fallen sharply in recent months.

In April, 16,000 asylum seekers arrived in the country, according to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees -- a steep drop from the 90,000 who arrived in January.