Turkey should heed
European Union warnings over halting membership talks and carry out reforms
demanded by the bloc, the president of the European Commission
said on Saturday
in a newspaper interview.
Jean-Claude Juncker
said Thursday's vote by the European Parliament to suspend talks with Ankara
should not be underestimated because, although not binding, "it will
produce effects in the capitals" of EU states that decide on membership.
Speaking to Belgian
newspaper La Libre Belgique, Juncker also dismissed President Tayyip Erdogan's
threats to end a refugee deal with the EU that has sharply reduced the flow of
migrants to Europe from the Middle East and Asia.
He urged Erdogan to
carry out the necessary reforms, starting with an overhaul of anti-terrorism
legislation, if he wants Turkish citizens to get visa-free travel to the EU --
a concession that is part of the refugee deal.
Juncker also denied
having said he would quit if Martin Schulz left his job as president of the
European Parliament, dismissing media reports more strongly than in previous
statements.
Schulz, a German
center-left politician, decided this week not to seek a new mandate, a move
that is likely to alter the EU's political balance.
A shift in favor of
Europe's center-right could raise questions about Juncker's staying in his post
and on Donald Tusk's presidency of the European Council of EU governments.
"According to
legal texts, I am in charge until the first of November 2019," Juncker
said.
In new sour remarks
against U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, Juncker stressed the Democratic
candidate Hillary Clinton got more votes than him, although she lost the
elections. Earlier this month, Juncker said Trump was ignorant of Europe and
his election posed a risk to EU-U.S. relations.
Trump's threats to
reduce the U.S. engagement toward European security should be used by the
European Union to strengthen its common defense policy, Juncker said, adding
that Trump is repeating warnings already raised by his predecessors.
Next week the
European Commission will present an "action plan" on European
defense, Juncker said.
Reuters
Follow Solenzo Blog on
0 Comments