EU to present road map to Erdogan

The European Union officials on Tuesday will debate over economic relations and financial support for refugees with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Council of Europe President Charles Michel and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will visit Ankara on Tuesday.

Speaking to AFP, an official of an EU member country revealed that European officials have a "road map" to discuss. This road map contains the decisions taken at the EU summit on March 26 and has political legitimacy.

VERY POLITICAL MOMENT

The same official argued that the talks to be held in Ankara on Tuesday will mark a "very political moment", however "negotiation will be off the table".

The European diplomat pointed out that this meeting will be followed very closely. “Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen are expected to address human rights issues and the rule of law as Josep Borrell did in Moscow. It is out of the question to be indifferent. It will be difficult.”

At the summit in March, the EU gave green light to a gradual and conditional collaboration with Turkey citing "positive signals" from the country.

EU READY FOR TALKS

According to AFP, there is a serious split in opinion among the EU countries about Turkey. There are Germany, Italy and Spain on the one hand, and France, Greece, Cyprus and Northern European countries on the other. However, the approach that emerged at the summit was unanimously accepted.

The EU postponed the sanctions on Turkey despite unprecedented human rights violations, systematic war crimes and illegal gas exploration activities of the country.

In this context, the EU seems to be ready to debate over the modernization of the Customs Union, resumption of the dialogue on issues such as security, the environment, health, which was suspended  in 2019 and visa facilitation for Turkish citizens.

A NEW PAGE?

European High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell talked about "a new page" between the EU and Turkey.

Turkey is claimed to have promised "positive steps" in response.

The European Union wants to see progress in negotiations between Greece and Turkey. The EU also demands Ankara's withdrawal from Libya.

At the March summit, the issue of sanctions was postponed to the EU summit in June.