ISTANBUL (AA) – A senior Turkish minister on Monday stressed the mutual importance of the EU and Turkey to one another.
Addressing a high-level economics meeting in Istanbul, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said: “Turkey needs a strong European Union. A strong EU is vital for global peace and welfare.
“In order to solve regional problems, the EU is essential. The European Union needs a strong and stable Turkey. If Turkey is stable, the European Union will get stronger and increase its welfare. Turkey and the EU cannot be separated.”
He added: “Turkey is a very important member of the European family.”
EU-Turkey relations have recently focused on the response to the refugee crisis engulfing Europe. Earlier this month a deal was implemented that will see migrants returned to Turkey from Greece in exchange for Syrian refugees to be resettled in the EU.
“There is a real success here,” Simsek said. “Illegal crossing has decreased considerably.”
The scheme is aimed at reducing the numbers of dangerous crossings in the Aegean Sea as unscrupulous people smugglers take advantage of desperate refugees.
Jyrki Katainen, a European Commission vice president, said the migration issue was too much of a challenge for a single state to tackle alone.
“It is an issue that cannot be solved overnight and there is no perfect solution,” he told the meeting.
Simsek said visa liberalization for Turkish nationals, which has been promised as part of the refugee deal, would increase commerce in the EU and Turkey.
