Baku, Azerbaijan, May 16
By Anakhanum Idayatova - Trend:
The EU-Turkey negotiations on the visa-free regime are extremely rocky, Theodore Karasik, analyst on the Middle East and senior advisor at Gulf State Analytics,Washington DC, told Trend May 16.
Karasik said that while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sees progress in the issue, the EU is noting Turkey's own domestic situation, which is frightening the investors.
"The EU doesn't need a 'sick man of Europe', so Brussels is trying to work a deal with Ankara," said the expert.
Karasik also believes that the EU-Ankara talks on the visa-free regime will be a continuous disappointment.
Earlier, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said the EU may introduce a visa-free regime with Turkey in the autumn 2016 if Ankara implements all the necessary requirements.
Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that a full membership in the EU continues to remain a priority for Turkey.
An association agreement between the EU and Turkey was signed in 1963. Ankara filed an application for the EU membership in 1987, but the negotiations on Ankara's accession to the EU started only in 2005.
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