Erdogan calls EU to make final decision

By Azernews

By Gunay Hasanova

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on November 9 called on the EU to make a final decision on Turkey’s accession to the union.

Speaking ahead of an annual EU report assessing Turkey’s progress on EU membership and visa-free travel due later in the day, Erdogan said: "They shamelessly say that Turkey’s EU negotiations should be reviewed. You are late. Review it as soon as possible."

"But do not just review, make your final decision,” he added.

The president reiterated the Turkish government's determination to fight terror, saying thousands of people have been martyred in this struggle.

"If you will review Turkey’s EU negotiations because Turkey fights honorably against terrorism, you are late. Our struggle with terrorism will continue until the end," he said.

Turkey has a long waited for its EU membership, while each application to accede to the European Union was frustrating for the government. Turkey, holding a status of an associate member at the Economic Community -- the predecessor of the EU since 1963 -- made an official application for entry on April 14, 1987.

The European Commission has proposed in May that the European Parliament and EU Council will lift visa restrictions for citizens of Turkey if Ankara fulfills the remaining conditions for abolishing visa entries until the end of June.

The list of pre-conditions included measures to prevent corruption, negotiations on an operational agreement with Europol (the EU police office), providing judicial cooperation with all EU member states, as well as the revision of the legislation on the fight against terrorism.

However, since the July 15 coup attempt, relations between Ankara and Brussels have fallen to a low as Turkish politicians lament the EU’s muted response to the attempted takeover and EU leaders criticize Turkey over widespread arrests and job suspensions in its wake.

Previously, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that if the EU doesn’t cancel visa regime with Turkey in mid-October, Ankara won’t be able to receive illegal migrants from the EU.

In addition, Erdogan also warned the West against opening their doors to "the terrorists who escaped from Turkey," and called on the EU to embrace "Syrian and African sufferers" instead of "terrorists and supporters of terrorism." 

"I want them to know that it will hit them like a boomerang. You declare PKK as a terrorist organization while you open the European Parliament's doors and corridors to PKK's leaders and members," he said, adding that it is not possible to say “yes” to this hypocrisy.