High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and Turkish Minister for European Affairs Omer Celik stressed in their separate press conferences following the Gymnich meeting in Bratislava on Saturday 3 September that, despite their differences, the EU and Turkey needed to strengthen their dialogue.
“We should speak less one about the other and more one to the other”, said Mogherini, expressing a view similar to that being set out at the same time by Celik. Ministers, indeed, turned words into action: their meeting over lunch, scheduled to last one hour, ultimately ran to over two.
Strengthening relations ... Both parties were keen to show how good relations were. “The main message we all share with our Turkish friend is a strong desire to re-engage in dialogue”, Mogherini said, stating that there were no issues off the table in their dialogue. “Relations between Turkey and the EU should not be limited to terrorism and migration. They should be more than that, based on a positive agenda” built on shared political values, Celik said, indicating that his meeting with the EU ministers had delivered “a strong desire for focus to be put on a positive agenda and stronger cooperation”. Mogherini said that the atmosphere of the meeting had been “positive”, but many areas of tension remain.
… but not uncritically. Even though the EU ministers once again condemned the attempted coup and expressed their “solidarity and sympathy” with the Turkish people and institutions, Celik told them that Turkey had been disappointed by their response. “The solidarity expressed is not enough”, he said, adding that “the EU failed to send a strong message on democracy”. Addressing the criticism of Turkey’s response to the failed coup, Celik stated that the authorities were “not seeking revenge but justice”. “The Turkish people”, he said, “showed that Turkey is a first rate democracy” and “a country governed by the rule of law”. Pointing out that Turks had risked their lives to halt the coup, he stated that “no one could come along and give the Turks lessons in democracy”.
The Turkish minister said, too, that comments by some European leaders, calling for accession talks to be halted, “lacked vision” and suggested that they could “put the future of the EU in danger” (see EUROPE 11615).
While Mogherini said that all agreements between the EU and Turkey should continue to be complied with and that work was continuing on removing the visa requirement, deepening the customs union, managing refugee flows, and economic and energy relations, Celik expressed his annoyance over visa liberalisation. “Until such time as there is visa liberalisation, Turkey will not be able to take any further measures” on migration, he warned. He said that his country would continue to implement the agreement concluded with the EU in March but made the point that, in view of the possible arrival of fresh waves of refugees, a new agreement – that would take account of both the political and the humanitarian – would be needed.
Celik was also clear that, while Turkey was still under terrorist threat and was being targeted by attacks, “it is absurd to expect changes in Turkish anti-terrorism laws” and that his country would not take any steps that would weaken the fight against terrorism. He stated, however, that Ankara could make pledges on measures to be put in place in the future. Changes to this law are among the criteria that have to be met if there is to be visa liberalisation. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)