Acting Undersecretary Ambassador Selim Yenel Meets Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vincenzo Amendola

Acting Undersecretary Ambassador Selim Yenel met with Vincenzo Amendola, Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs on March 1, 2017 at the Ministry for EU Affairs.

During the meeting, bilateral relations, Türkiye’s EU accession process, the future of Türkiye-EU relations, in this context, 18 March Agreement, the EU’s voluntary humanitarian admission scheme, visa liberalisation dialogue, Cyprus issue,  Erasmus + Programme were addressed. They also exchanged views on the future of the EU and current international developments.

Having mentioned that the Türkiye-EU relations are being negatively affected due to some member states’ calls for closing the dialogue channels, Ambassador Yenel underlined that Türkiye's has always turned its face towards the West, and Türkiye-EU relations will continue under any circumstances and the EU membership still remains a strategic goal for Türkiye.

Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Amendola stressed that Italy supports Türkiye's EU membership, attaches importance to co-operation with Türkiye, and that the enlarging the Union means strengthening the Union. Moreover, stating that Türkiye - EU relations  should not be used for domestic politics, Amendola emphasized that the EU should be more clear and frank with Türkiye.