TÜRKÇE
  Updated: 27/06/2018

Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik evaluated the General Affairs Council Conclusions adopted yesterday

Regarding the EU General Affairs Council Conclusions adopted yesterday, Minister for European Union (EU) Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ömer Çelik said: “With this document, the EU has declared that it will not comply with the EU-Türkiye Statement of 18 March. We cannot accept a selective type of relationship in which the EU sees Türkiye as a key partner in areas such as migration, terrorism, transport and energy, which is in its interest, and refuses to fulfil its commitments to Türkiye.”

Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik criticized the Council Conclusions in the statement he made over his Twitter account, and emphasized that it was a document that was of historical significance for demonstrating the extent of the confusion clouding the collective reason in the EU. Minister Ömer Çelik said: “This statement lacking vision which is far from reality and full of contradictions, clearly shows how the EU is being held captive by an anti-Turkish mentality.”

Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik, who indicated that the General Affairs Council Conclusions were a manifestation of  the anti-Turkish view held by certain Member States, in particular Austria, also said that this document underlined the fact that EU officials, who admitted in closed meetings that they had failed to sufficiently support Türkiye after the 15 July coup attempt, once more criticised the measures taken by Türkiye against terrorism instead of extending their support to Türkiye against terrorists.

Minister Ömer Çelik, who noted that the extent that the Council Conclusions, which were adopted in a period when Türkiye had just concluded its Presidential and Parliamentary elections when Türkiye was at the beginning of new era and about to embark on the significant reform process for Presidential Administration System  demonstrated the prejudice against Türkiye, pointed out that this document, which seemed to have been prepared in view of the obsessive views regarding Türkiye held by certain Member States, in particular Austria, was in fact full of contradictions.

Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik, who pointed out that the Council Conclusions, which referred to independence of the judiciary on the one hand, and on the other hand, attempted to give the judiciary a message by expressing expectations regarding EU citizens and two Greek soldiers for whom judicial proceedings are underway, also stated:

“The EU, which calls on Türkiye to align with the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), needs to steer its members towards adopting a consistent and humanist approach to humanitarian tragedies, such as those that have taken place in Palestine. Those who remain silent in the face of such atrocities such as those committed by Israel cannot attempt to lecture Türkiye.

We cannot take seriously the biased stance taken by the EU on Türkiye-Greek relations and the Cyprus issue, which is far from objective and is based on sense of a “solidarity between neighbours” rather than legitimacy.  

The approach taken in the Council Conclusions, which on the one hand emphasizes the significance of continuing the EU-Türkiye Statement of 18 March, but states that there will neither be any new chapters opened to negotiations nor any steps taken to update the Customs Union on the other hand, and also neglects the issue of visa liberalisation, is not only contradictory but insincere. The 18 March EU-Türkiye Statement is not just about migration. These matters to which the EU is committed are also the primary components of this document. The EU has declared that it will not fulfil its commitments to the EU-Türkiye Statement of 18 March.

We cannot accept a selective type of relationship in which the EU sees Türkiye as a key partner in areas such as migration, terrorism, transport and energy, which is in its interest, but at the same time, refuses to fulfil its commitments to Türkiye

The allegation that Türkiye is moving away from the EU by the EU Council, which is held captive by Member States ruled by the far-right, is tragi-comical indeed. This allegation cannot be taken seriously. Austria’s intention to end Türkiye-EU relations has become an EU stance with the support of some EU Member States. We want to become a member of an EU that represents the Europe of values. An EU in which the rule of the far-right is seen as normal and which moves away from its own founding values cannot guarantee a future for EU Member States and candidate countries.”

 


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Updated: 27/06/2018 / Hit: 7,068