Brussels, 09/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 8 June, the EU and Turkey agreed it was necessary to strengthen their cooperation “to counter these threats to our security and peace”.
The issue was addressed as part of the dialogue between the EU and the Turkish authorities on counter-terrorism, at which the EU was represented by the European counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerkhove, the deputy secretary general of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Petro Serrano, and the European Commission director for internal security Luigi Soreca. The importance of such dialogues being held regularly was underlined at the EU-Turkey summit in November 2015 (see EUROPE 11441).
In a press release at the end of this latest dialogue, both parties reaffirmed “their determination to jointly combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, in accordance with international law, in particular international human rights law and international refugee law”. They agreed to explore how to strengthen their collaboration on information sharing and judicial cooperation, especially as regards the fight against the financing of terrorism and the expulsion of people connected with terrorism. The EU and Turkey also want to step up their cooperation on preventing radicalisation and recruitment, and to address the root causes of these problems.
The EU hailed the deployment of a Turkish liaison officer to Europol and proposed to deepen cooperation between the Turkish agencies and the European Police College (CEPOL) and Europol. This deepened cooperation could involve counter-terrorism training and the exchange of good practice and staff.
The EU and Turkey reiterated their commitment urgently to step up efforts to fight the threat posed by ISIL and to stem the flow of foreign terrorist fighters. They also underlined their determination “to work closely” to counter the terrorist threat from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the EU. In addition, they committed to working together to advance international efforts in forums such as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF) and the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL/Da'esh. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)