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Expert: Neither Turkey nor EU to benefit from PACE decision

Türkiye Materials 26 April 2017 17:05 (UTC +04:00)
Neither Turkey nor EU will benefit from the decision by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to reopen the monitoring procedurein respect of Turkey, Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu, vice chairman of the Turkish Strategic Outlook analytical center, told Trend by email Apr. 26.
Expert: Neither Turkey nor EU to benefit from PACE decision

Baku, Azerbaijan, April 26

By Anakhanum Hidayatova – Trend:

Neither Turkey nor EU will benefit from the decision by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to reopen the monitoring procedurein respect of Turkey, Mehmet Fatih Oztarsu, vice chairman of the Turkish Strategic Outlook analytical center, told Trend by email Apr. 26.

The expert added that earlier, Turkey and the EU cooperated more closely.

“Turkey carried out reforms in the light of EU membershipthoroughly, but the current situation is different both in the EU and in Turkey,” he said.

Oztarsu said that the EU hardly deals with Turkey and its issues.

"Today, Turkey is at the center of the regional crisis, which it has to confront,” he said. “Europe has not kept its promises on refugees and Turkey, in this regard, has every right to sue the EU."

The expert added that today if Europe urges Turkey to fulfill certain obligations, then the EU must take into account the current situation in Turkey because of the refugee crisis, as well be responsible for its promises.

Earlier, the majority of PACE members voted for the adoption of the resolution, which envisages reopening of monitoring procedure in respect of Turkey.

Some 113 parliamentarians voted for the resolution, 45 – voted against, 12 abstained. The Turkish foreign ministry condemned the PACE decision, by calling it politicized and unfair.

Turkey hasn’t received the full amount of funds from the EU within the migration agreement. The EU promised Turkey 3 billion euros.

Heads of states and governments of the EU member countries agreed a joint plan with Turkey in mid-March 2016 to fight the migration crisis. It envisages, in particular, the return to Turkey of illegal migrants arrived in Greece from Turkey’s territory, and receiving legal migrants-Syrians by the EU from Turkey on a “one-for-one” basis.

Earlier, Turkey’s then Minister for the EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir said that by late February 2016, Ankara will receive $3 billion euros allocated by the EU to upkeep the Syrian refugees in Turkey.

According to the Turkish Office for Prevention and Elimination of Consequences of Emergency (AFAD), there are three million Syrian refugees in Turkey. Turkey has spent more than $10 billion on Syrian refugees.

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