Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan go to summit with high-ranking EU officials with a video in his pocket and high expectations. On his Want-List are the 3billion-euro funding for the refugees, the Turkish citizens ( the Gulenists) who fled to EU after the failed coup of 2016, Visa-free travels, combat terrorism in general and the Kurdish PKK in particular. But the atmosphere is tense, especially after the EU leaders issued a joint statement last week, in which they condemned Turkey for its illegal actions in the Aegean Sea and the East Mediterranean. As the European Union has also its own expectations from Turkey, the meeting might well not end in satisfaction of all sides.
- The Turkey-EU Summit will be held on Monday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, European Council President Donald Tusk and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Varna, Bulgaria.
According to Turkish state news agency Anadoly, Ankara expects from the EU updates on the Customs Union agreement, visa liberalization, acceleration of financial assistance to Syria and concrete steps to combat terrorism.
Turkey wants the EU to show a more constructive attitude for the “trust facility”.
However, ahead of the summit, Erdogan made to sure to put limits on upcoming EU criticism. “Turkey doe snot accept lessons form the West,” he said during a speech in the city of Samsun on Sunday and warned “Nobody has the right to play with the pride and dignity of the Turkish people.”
Erdogan’s video to prove to EU that PKK/Syrian YPG attacks on civilians.
So far, the EU keeps its cards hidden, Brussels states it is considering the differences between the two sides, the summit will not be “easy”, and it aims to “strengthen the relations”. Human rights, Turkey purge are high on the EU agenda, while at the same time Germany has a strong interest in maintaining economic and trade relations with Turkey.
Moreover, Tusk and Juncker have promised to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to bring to Erdogan the issue of the two Greek soldiers in Turkish custody.
The summit is, the first after 2015, is crucial for setting up the future frame for EU-Turkey relations. A lot will depend on how much is Erdogan willing to give in order to get what he thinks the EU owes him.
The Turkish President may also finally reveal his true goal ever since he came to power in 2004: Never a full EU membership but just a custom union.
Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will host the summit as Chairman of the EU Council.
The summit will start at 07:00 p.m. local time (GMT18.00) and is set to last at least two hours. After the meeting a joint news conference will be held.
