Brussels, 29/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 29 June, the heads of state or government of the 28 EU member states, along with High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn, condemned a triple attack on Istanbul Airport. They underlined the importance of cooperating in the fight against terrorism.
“Turkey has suffered another tragic terrorist attack, this time at Istanbul's Atatürk Airport (…) The European Union reiterates once again its continuing solidarity to Turkey, its government and its people and reaffirms its commitment to work closely together to fight the global threat of terrorism in all its forms”, Mogherini and Hahn said in a press release.
During his press conference, European Council President Donald Tusk stated that in such times it was important to be “united”. French President François Hollande “strongly” condemned this “abominable act”. It is important “to ensure that we can know the perpetrators in order to do together what is possible against terrorism in this region”, he said, adding that he feared this attack, the latest in a long series “will make the situation in Turkey more difficult”. “We must act (…) and coordinate our services still more and take the necessary action against terrorism”, he added. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was “appalled” by this “new act of hateful terrorism”, while Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy believed that terrorism is a global threat that requires a global response.
At least 41 people have been killed in the attack and 239 injured. This is the most deadly attack in Turkey in 2016. The country has already been targeted three times this year. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant with Mathieu Bion and Aminata Niang)