Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said he will seek the removal at a summit with the EU on Monday of all obstacles to a stalled membership bid, which the bloc however believes are of Ankara’s own making.

 

 Criticism from European Union governments of what many view as Erdogan’s growing authoritarianism at home and his intervention in Syria’s war has created an uneasy backdrop to the gathering in the Black Sea port of Varna.

 

 Some countries had called for an end to long-stalled accession talks and had hesitated to agree to meet him.

 

 But Erdogan said it was time for the EU to “keep its promises” to Turkey, which started formal membership negotiations in 2005 that stalled five years and have now effectively collapsed.

 

 “EU membership continues to be our strategic goal,” Erdogan told reporters before departing for the summit. “In today’s EU summit, we will convey our expectations about the lifting of the obstacles our country has faced.”

 

 Erdogan, who has alarmed the West with a massive purge since a failed coup attempt in July 2016, remains an important ally in the US-led NATO alliance and the fight against Islamic militants, and the destination for many Syrians fleeing war.

 

 Turkey shares a border with Iraq, Syria and with Russia in the Black Sea, and the EU is its biggest foreign investor and trading partner.

 

 Cash only

 

 EU leaders are likely to provide Erdogan with 3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in fresh cash to extend a 2016 deal on Turkey taking in Syrian refugees.

 

 They will go no further than that, as Brussels considers the EU membership bid a separate process focused on rule of law, press freedoms and economic reforms.

 

 But Erdogan on Monday appeared to conflate the two.

 

 “Our country has fulfilled all responsibilities as part of the 2016 migrant deal, but the EU has not shown the same sincerity in keeping its promises and still does not do so,” Erdogan said.

 

 “In terms of counter-terrorism, we will convey that we expect unconditional support and cooperation from the EU.”

 

 EU officials say Turkey’s post-coup crackdown on civil rights has taken it further from complying with EU membership criteria.

 

 “The differences in views between the EU and Turkey are many,” said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who will represent the bloc along with European Council President Donald Tusk.

 

 “[Varna]...will be a frank and open debate, where we will not hide our differences but will seek to improve our cooperation,” Juncker said after a two-day EU summit that condemned what they said were Turkey’s illegal actions in a standoff over Mediterranean gas with Greece and Cyprus.

 

 Dialogue or condemnation?

 

 Turkey’s EU membership process is not formally frozen, but talks have not taken place for over a year.

 

 Host Bulgaria, which also shares a border with Turkey holds the EU’s rotating presidency, is eager to keep ties as positive as possible.

 

 “The meeting in Varna is likely to be one of the last opportunities to maintain dialogue,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said.

 

 Meanwhile Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria, the country the most opposed to Turkey’s EU membership aspirations, called in an interview in Die Welt newspaper for the EU to condemn Ankara for escalating the seven-year-long war in Syria.

 

 [Reuters]</s>ANKARA/VARNA: Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said he will seek the removal at a summit with the EU of all obstacles to a stalled membership bid, which the bloc however believes are of Ankara’s own making.

 Criticism from European Union governments of what many view as Erdogan’s growing authority at home and his intervention in Syria’s war has created an uneasy backdrop to the gathering in the Black Sea port of Varna.

 Some countries had called for an end to long-stalled accession talks and had hesitated to agree to meet him.

 But Erdogan said it was time for the EU to “keep its promises” to Turkey, which started formal membership negotiations in 2005 that stalled five years and have now effectively collapsed.

 “EU membership continues to be our strategic goal,” Erdogan told reporters before departing for the summit. “In today’s EU summit, we will convey our expectations about the lifting of the obstacles our country has faced.”

 Erdogan, who has alarmed the West with a massive purge since a failed coup attempt in July 2016, remains an important ally in the US-led Nato alliance and the fight against militants, and the destination for many Syrians fleeing war.

 Turkey shares a border with Iraq, Syria and with Russia in the Black Sea, and the EU is its biggest foreign investor and trading partner.

 EU leaders are likely to provide Erdogan with 3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in fresh cash to extend a 2016 deal on Turkey taking in Syrian refugees. They will go no further than that, as Brussels considers the EU membership bid a separate process focused on rule of law, press freedoms and economic reforms.

 But Erdogan on Monday appeared to conflate the two.

 “Our country has fulfilled all responsibilities as part of the 2016 migrant deal, but the EU has not shown the same sincerity in keeping its promises and still does not do so,” Erdogan said.

 “In terms of counter-terrorism, we will convey that we expect unconditional support and cooperation from the EU.”

 EU officials say Turkey’s post-coup crackdown on civil rights has taken it further from complying with EU membership criteria.

 “The differences in views between the EU and Turkey are many,” said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who will represent the bloc along with European Council President Donald Tusk.

 “(Varna)… will be a frank and open debate, where we will not hide our differences but will seek to improve our cooperation,” Juncker said after a two-day EU summit that condemned what they said were Turkey’s illegal actions in a standoff over Mediterranean gas with Greece and Cyprus.

 Turkey’s EU membership process is not formally frozen, but talks have not taken place for over a year.

 Host Bulgaria, which also shares a border with Turkey holds the EU’s rotating presidency, is eager to keep ties as positive as possible.

 “The meeting in Varna is likely to be one of the last opportunities to maintain dialogue,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said.

 Meanwhile Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria called on the EU to condemn Ankara for escalating the war in Syria. — Reuters</s>ANKARA/VARNA, Bulgaria, March 26 (Reuters) - Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said he will seek the removal at a summit with the EU on Monday of all obstacles to a stalled membership bid, which the bloc however believes are of Ankara's own making.

Criticism from European Union governments of what many view as Erdogan's growing authoritarianism at home and his intervention in Syria's war has created an uneasy backdrop to the gathering in the Black Sea port of Varna.

Some countries had called for an end to long-stalled accession talks and had hesitated to agree to meet him.

But Erdogan said it was time for the EU to "keep its promises" to Turkey, which started formal membership negotiations in 2005 that stalled five years and have now effectively collapsed.

"EU membership continues to be our strategic goal," Erdogan told reporters before departing for the summit. "In today's EU summit, we will convey our expectations about the lifting of the obstacles our country has faced."

Erdogan, who has alarmed the West with a massive purge since a failed coup attempt in July 2016, remains an important ally in the U.S.-led NATO alliance and the fight against Islamic militants, and the destination for many Syrians fleeing war.

Turkey shares a border with Iraq, Syria and with Russia in the Black Sea, and the EU is its biggest foreign investor and trading partner.

EU leaders are likely to provide Erdogan with 3 billion euros ($3.7 billion) in fresh cash to extend a 2016 deal on Turkey taking in Syrian refugees.

They will go no further than that, as Brussels considers the EU membership bid a separate process focused on rule of law, press freedoms and economic reforms.

But Erdogan on Monday appeared to conflate the two.

"Our country has fulfilled all responsibilities as part of the 2016 migrant deal, but the EU has not shown the same sincerity in keeping its promises and still does not do so," Erdogan said.

"In terms of counter-terrorism, we will convey that we expect unconditional support and cooperation from the EU."

EU officials say Turkey's post-coup crackdown on civil rights has taken it further from complying with EU membership criteria.

"The differences in views between the EU and Turkey are many," said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who will represent the bloc along with European Council President Donald Tusk.

"(Varna)...will be a frank and open debate, where we will not hide our differences but will seek to improve our cooperation," Juncker said after a two-day EU summit that condemned what they said were Turkey's illegal actions in a standoff over Mediterranean gas with Greece and Cyprus .

Turkey's EU membership process is not formally frozen, but talks have not taken place for over a year.

Host Bulgaria, which also shares a border with Turkey holds the EU's rotating presidency, is eager to keep ties as positive as possible.

"The meeting in Varna is likely to be one of the last opportunities to maintain dialogue," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said.

Meanwhile Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria, the country the most opposed to Turkey's EU membership aspirations, called in an interview in Die Welt newspaper for the EU to condemn Ankara for escalating the seven-year-long war in Syria.</s>Gain a global perspective on the US and go beyond with curated news and analysis from 600 journalists in 50+ countries covering politics, business, innovation, trends and more.</s>European Council President Donald Tusk has told Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov that his idea of holding the EU -Turkey summit in Varna as an opportunity to re-establish dialogue with Turkey is “great and is highly appreciated by all with whom I have been discussing it,” according to a Bulgarian government statement.

Tusk and Borissov held talks on March 26 ahead of a working dinner that will see, with Borissov as host, a delegation headed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sit down with EU leaders including Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

The working dinner will assess matters of mutual interest and recent developments in Turkey, including the country’s illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and its involvement in Syria, a European Council statement said.

Erdoğan will be bringing to the table demands including, among other things, the receipt of promised billions of euro in an EU funding package to held Turkey cope with millions of Syrian refugees, and a demand for the re-start of talks on his country’s EU accession.

EU leaders, in turn, want to see Erdoğan’s Ankara lift the state of emergency imposed after the July 2016 attempted coup, and want to see significant progress on human rights, including an end to the widespread crackdown on opposition politicians, academics and journalists that has been continuing during the state of emergency.

Hopes are not high that the Varna EU-Turkey leaders’ meeting will see any significant agreements, though the optimistic view is that it will – perhaps at most – send a signal of continuing dialogue in spite of the deterioration of relations between Ankara and the bloc.

Borissov, whose country currently holds the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, said that for Bulgaria, it was important to have good relations with its neighbouring country.

“Good relations are also important for the EU because of the overcoming of the migratory flow, which has created many problems for the Union in recent years,” Borissov said.

Two hours before the start of the dinner, Borissov is to hold talks with Erdoğan.

Bulgarian head of state President Roumen Radev, who is not involved in the Varna event, was at a March 26 ceremony in Sofia to commemorate the Battle of Edirne in the Balkan Wars, and told reporters he hoped that Borissov would raised with Erdoğan the question of compensation for descendants of refugees displaced from Eastern Thrace at the time of the Second Balkan War in 1913.

News agency BTA quoted Radev as telling reporters that seeking a solution to the question about the compensations “is not an anachronism but part of the contemporary European take on history in the spirit and practice of today’s international politics”. “The killing, persecution and ruin of the Thracian Bulgarians is a bitter lesson which we must not forget,” said Radev, who frequently is at loggerheads with Borissov’s government. Radev has been head of state since January 2017 following his election on a ticket backed by the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party.</s>European Council President Donald Tusk on Monday said the latest summit between European Union representatives and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan achieved no concrete solutions or compromises on points of concern.

"If you ask whether we reached any concrete solutions or compromises, the answer is no," said Tusk, following a summit with EU and Turkish representatives in the Bulgarian costal town of Varna.

"But I still hope that will be possible in the future ... Only progress on these issues will allow us to improve the EU-Turkey relations, including the accession process."

President Erdogan was a little more optimistic. "We hope that we have left behind the difficult period in relations between Turkey and the European Union," he said, adding that the two parties had discussed the steps needed to improve EU-Turkey ties.

The summit touched on a range of issues that have caused tension between Turkey and the EU, such as migration, EU membership and Turkey's fight against "terror" groups including Kurdish militants.

Read more: With Turkey’s offensive into Afrin, Erdogan is seeking to kill two birds with one stone

On the EU-Turkey relationship: Tusk said the EU and Turkey needed an open and frank dialogue, and that while the two parties had many common interests there were challenges that needed to be worked on together.

"Our meeting today demonstrated that while our relationship is going through difficult times, in areas where we do cooperate, we cooperate well," Tusk said. "We reconfirm our readiness to keep up the dialogue and conversation and work together to overcome current difficulties with a view to unleashing the potential of our partnership."

Read more: Opinion — EU refugee deal with Turkey full of hypocrisy

On Turkey's EU membership: Following the summit, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said he would like Turkey to be a strategic partner of the EU, while Erdogan warned that leaving Turkey out of an EU enlargement would be a big mistake.

Speaking before the meeting, Erodgan said, "As Turkey, we have been continuing on our way with the goal of full membership [of the EU] despite all the mines that were planted on our path and barriers in front of us. Today, membership in the European Union remains a strategic goal for us."

Read more: Who is Salih Muslim, the Syrian Kurdish leader wanted by Turkey?

On migration: Tusk said the EU was fully committed to continuing support for Syrian refugees living in Turkey. The EU said, as promised, it would allocate another €3 billion ($3.75 billion) to provide support for Syrian refugees in Turkey. "There should be no doubt that the EU will honor its commitments," Juncker said.

Speaking ahead of the summit, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said good relations with Turkey were important "to handle the migratory flow, which has created many problems for the Union in recent years."

On the fight against terror: Erdogan said Turkey expected the EU's support rather than criticism in its fight against terrorism. Tusk said both the EU and Turkey wanted to expand cooperation regarding foreign terrorist fighters.

Every evening at 1830 UTC, DW editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.</s>The European Union holds an uneasy summit with Turkey on Monday, when it is likely to provide Ankara with fresh cash to extend a deal on Syrian refugees but deflect Turkish demands for deeper trade ties and visa-free travel to Europe. With the bloc critical of what it considers to be Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s growing authoritarianism at home and his intervention in Syria’s war, Brussels had hesitated to agree to the summit. But host Bulgaria viewed the meeting at the Black Sea port of Varna as a rare chance for dialogue with the country that remains a candidate for EU membership despite years of stalled talks. EU leaders also cited Turkey’s importance as a NATO ally on Europe’s southern flank and in curbing immigration to Europe from the Middle East and Africa.

“I am looking with mixed feelings towards the Varna summit because the differences in views between the EU and Turkey are many,” said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who will represent the bloc along with European Council President Donald Tusk. “It will be a frank and open debate, where we will not hide our differences but will seek to improve our cooperation,” Juncker told reporters on Friday after a two-day EU summit that discussed Turkey. At that meeting in Brussels, leaders condemned what they said were Turkey’s illegal actions in a standoff over eastern Mediterranean gas reserves with bloc members Greece and Cyprus.

But in a familiar pattern of public recrimination, Turkey’s minister for EU affairs, Omer Celik, said Ankara viewed the summit as “an important opportunity to move our relations forward” and that he expected “the same positive and constructive approach from the EU”. Erdogan will seek more money for Syrian refugees, a deeper customs union and progress in talks on letting Turks visit Europe without visas, a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said.

EU money is likely to be forthcoming, but little else, EU officials and diplomats said. The bloc is set to grant Turkey a second 3 billion euro ($3.7 billion) tranche to provide for the Syrians it hosts under a March 2016 deal to take in migrants fleeing the country’s war. However, EU diplomats said that Erdogan’s invitation to Varna will come at the price of more sharp criticism from EU counterparts who say that Turkey has been backsliding on democracy and human rights since a failed coup in July 2016.

Some 50,000 people, including journalists, have been arrested while a further 150,000, including teachers, judges and soldiers, have been sacked or suspended from their jobs since the attempted coup. “The meeting in Varna is likely to be one of the last opportunities to maintain dialogue,” said Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, whose nation holds the EU’s rotating presidency. Despite the need for Turkey’s cooperation on security and foreign policy, the EU should maintain a tough line, said Marc Pierini, a former EU ambassador to Turkey, now at the Carnegie Europe think-tank.

“It’s quite tempting for EU politicians to go for a transactional relationship with Turkey, but Erdogan is not going to stop EU-bashing for his nationalist agenda,” he Pierini.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App</s>European leaders and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are meeting in Varna, Bulgaria for the EU Summit Meeting, with the provocative Turkish actions and the refugee crisis on the agenda of talks.

 The summit, hosted by Bulgarian prime minister and chairman of the EU, Boyko Borissov, will bring together European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

 There is little hope of restoring close relations between the EU and Turkey, as tensions have been high, especially after the Turkish military operations in Afrin and the actions against Greece and Cyprus in the Aegean Sea.

 The Summit is not expected to produce any significant results but might be an important step in trying to normalise their relations. Turkey is demanding the full implementation of the terms agreed in relation to the refugee deal with the EU, meaning the immediate release of 3 billion euros.

 “I believe it is in the interest of the EU for the deal to continue to operate, and therefore for the money to go to the Syrian refugees. The agreement also benefits both the EU and Turkey and the refugees on its territory. I see no reason why Turkey, which was the country that requested in 2016 this agreement with the EU to cancel it now. As long as the EU applies the terms and conditions on its part, Turkey will do the same”, the architect of the EU-Turkey Refugee Agreement Gerald Knaus told protothema.gr.</s>VARNA, Bulgaria: The EU said it failed to reach any “concrete solutions or compromises” with Turkey in talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeking to repair their tattered relations. Erdogan held a working dinner with European Union President Donald Tusk and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Bulgaria with a litany of issues clouding their discussions.

 These include EU alarm at Erdogan’s crackdown on perceived opponents following a coup attempt in 2016, the arrest of journalists, Turkey’s military operations against Kurds in northern Syria and squabbling over Ankara’s deal to halt the flow of refugees into Europe.

 This has all whipped up an increasingly acrimonious war of words and made Turkey’s prospects of joining the EU — an objective that Erdogan insisted earlier on Monday that Turkey still pursues — appear even more remote. But despite hopes for a breakthrough at the summit in the Black Sea resort of Varna, Tusk said they made little tangible headway.

 “In terms of concrete solutions, we did not reach a concrete compromise today but I still hope it will be possible in the future,” Tusk told a joint news conference.

 But Erdogan struck a more optimistic tone, telling reporters: “We hope that we have left a very difficult period behind in Turkey-EU relations.”

 However he added: “We don’t want rambling or unfair criticisms on sensitive issues like the fight against terror. We expect strong support.”

 Juncker said the summit was one of “mixed feelings but not mixed messages”, adding: “It was a good meeting because as this is the normal principle between big democracies.” — AFP</s>The EU and Turkey failed to reach any "concrete solutions or compromises" in talks on Monday aimed at patching up their tattered relations, EU President Donald Tusk said after the meeting.

"If you are asking me if we achieved some solutions or compromises, my answer is no," Tusk said in Bulgaria following the talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

"What can I say is that I raised all our concerns. As you know, it was a long list including the rule of law and press freedom in Turkey, and Turkey's bilateral relations with member states, also the situation in Syria," he said.

"Today our meeting was dedicated to continue our dialogue and we agreed that ... we should continue our dialogue in really difficult circumstances," he told a news conference with Erdogan and Juncker in Varna.

"My position is clear, only progress on these issues will allow us to improve EU-Turkey relations including the accession process," he added.

Erdogan reiterated comments from earlier in the day that his country still wanted to join the bloc but said he did not want "unfair criticisms".

"We hope that we have left a very difficult period behind in Turkey-EU relations behind us," Erdogan said.

"We don't want rambling or unfair criticisms on sensitive issues like the fight against terror, we expect strong support," he said.

Relations have worsened -- and Turkey's prospects of joining the EU have become more remote -- in the wake of Erdogan's crackdown following an attempted coup against him in 2016.

Turkey's ongoing military operations against Kurdish forces in northern Syria have also raised concerns in European capitals.

Temperatures were also raised further last week after EU leaders condemned Turkey's "illegal actions" towards Greece and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea.

Ankara and Brussels had in March 2016 agreed a controversial deal to stop the flow of migrants, in what was seen as a landmark in cooperation and which Turkey hoped would yield visa free travel to Europe.

So far this incentive has not been realised, however, to Ankara's frustration.
European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker conclude talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The parties say they have been unable to agree on human rights issues but pledge to hold more talks.