Chancellor
Merkel has said Germany will support Turkey's EU membership bid, during a visit
aimed at securing Ankara's help in stemming a migrant influx to Europe. Turkish
PM Davutoglu hailed Europe's "better approach."
Deutsche Welle, 18 Oct 2015
Merkel and Davutoglu shake hands at a joint-press conference |
Germany is
ready to accelerate Turkey's EU accession process, said German Chancellor
Angela Merkel on Sunday at a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu.
Merkel
spoke of organizing the accesion process "more dynamically."
"Germany
is ready this year to open Chapter 17, and make preparations for (Chapters) 23
and 24. We can talk about the details," she said.
Kanzlerin #Merkel zu Gesprächen in #Türkei eingetroffen. Im Mittelpunkt: Syrien+Kooperation in der Flüchtlingskrise. pic.twitter.com/15vLrwt6jM
— Steffen Seibert (@RegSprecher) 18 oktober 2015
Merkel's
statement comes as she visits Turkish leaders on Sunday in a bid to secure
Ankara's support in stemming the current migrant influx into the EU.
'Better
approach'
Davutoglu
hailed the EU's latest moves to foster collaboration between Brussels and
Ankara as a "better approach."
"Unfortunately
Turkey was left alone by the international community in terms of burden sharing.
We are very pleased there is a better approach now. The issue of sharing going
forward is very important," Davutoglu said.
The Turkish
premier also praised Merkel for "not turning a blind eye" to the
crisis.
However,
Davutoglu noted that "significant new waves of migration" were likely
to occur if a political solution to the Syrian conflict does not emerge.
Turkey has
taken in more than two million Syrian refugees since a civil war erupted there
in 2011, according to UN figures.
Whole
package?
According
to officials, the EU offered Ankara an aid package of at least 3 billion euros
($3.4 billion) along with an easing EU visa restrictions for Turkish citizens,
which Merkel and Davutoglu discussed.
The German
chancellor later met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said he
asked Merkel to support Turkey's EU membership bid. Erdogan added that he also
asked France, Britain and Spain for support.
The EU is
struggling to cope with the current influx of asylum seekers, with more than
half a million migrants having crossed into the 28-nation bloc in 2015, the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) reported in September.
ls/tj (Reuters, AFP, dpa)
Germany, Turkey hail progress in handling refugee crisis http://t.co/KzSFwV7skC pic.twitter.com/HgwlJBVOOH
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) 18 oktober 2015
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