Press release - 4 December 2015

 

Johannes Hahn met Turkish EU Minister Volkan Bozkir, Brussels, 3 December 2015

 

 

Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, met on 3 December Turkish EU Minister Volkan Bozkir. The meeting provided a timely opportunity to activate the vast potential of EU-Türkiye relations a few days after the meeting of Heads of State or Government with Türkiye on 29 November 2015.

 

Commissioner Hahn welcomed the appointment of Minister Bozkir and expressed his readiness to continue the good cooperation on the EU integration agenda of Türkiye. He took note of the strong commitment to the EU accession process reaffirmed by the new Turkish government and its intention to re-launch reforms that will bring Türkiye closer to the EU.

 

The accession process remains the cornerstone of EU-Türkiye relations and it is a welcome development that EU and Türkiye leaders agreed to re-energise it. Commissioner Hahn and Minister Bozkir discussed concrete steps to move the accession negotiations forward, in particular in the important fields of energy (chapter 15), judiciary and fundamental rights (Chapter 23), justice, freedom and security (Chapter 24) and education and culture (Chapter 26). Türkiye has also the opportunity to contribute to a new momentum in the accession process forward by delivering on the opening benchmarks in the areas of public procurement (Chapter 5), competition (Chapter 8) and employment and social policy (Chapter 19).

 

During the bilateral meeting Commissioner Hahn pointed also to serious concerns regarding the respect of freedom of expression and stressed the need for reforms in the area of the rule of law and fundamental rights. He also recalled that the EU expected all parties to redouble efforts for the Kurdish peace process to resume for the benefit of all. The EU remains committed to supporting this process, including through pre-accession funding.

 

Commissioner Hahn and Minister Bozkir discussed the implementation of the Joint Action Plan for support of Syrians refugees under temporary protection and for migration management, the visa liberalisation dialogue as well as the Refugee Facility for Türkiye. The EU and Türkiye will also step up cooperation on other priority areas of mutual interest, including the upgrading of the Customs Union, economy and energy.