EU Commissioner for Migration said that Turkey and the European Union should continue to work together to manage migration, fight against terrorism and ensure peace in the region amid ongoing tensions between Ankara and several EU countries.
Turkey and the European Union should continue to work together to manage migration, fight against terrorism and ensure peace in the region amid ongoing tensions between Ankara and several EU countries, EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos said.
“Turkey needs the EU and the EU needs Turkey – to better manage migration, to jointly fight terrorism, to bring peace and stability in the wider region,” Avramopoulos said in an interview to the Hurriyet Daily newspaper on Friday on the first anniversary of a migration deal between Ankara and Brussels.
He called Turkey and the European Union “historical partners” and urged to focus on mutual interest, avoiding the situations that could undermine bilateral cooperation in these “turbulent moments” for both sides.
The EU commissioner’s comments come amid Turkey’s diplomatic row with the Netherlands and Germany. Earlier in March, authorities in several German cities banned Turkish officials’ campaign meetings ahead of a vote on the constitutional reform that would expand Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers, while the Dutch authorities refused landing for Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who was to meet with Turkish expats in the Netherlands. The relations between the states significantly worsened, with Turkish president comparing German and Dutch authorities’ behavior to Nazism.