No one questions Turkey's EU candidacy: Bloc envoy

Nobody questions Turkey's candidacy for EU membership, said the bloc's top diplomat in Turkey on March 26 on the heels of an EU leaders' summit that tackled Turkish-EU ties.

Speaking to reporters in the Turkish capital Ankara, Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, head of the EU Delegation to Turkey, reviewed the conclusions from the two-day summit on relations between the European Union and Turkey, a candidate for bloc membership since 1999.

"Nobody puts in question the candidate status of Turkey," said Meyer-Landrut, stressing its "candidate status."

On Thursday, day one of the summit, the EU Council passed conclusions saying that the EU is ready to engage with Turkey in a "phased, proportionate, reversible manner" to enhance cooperation in areas of common interest.

It also said that the EU is ready "to take further decisions at the European Council meeting in June," praising the de-escalation of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, resumption of talks between Turkey and Greece, and upcoming talks on the Cyprus issue under UN auspices.

The conclusions are "important because the European Union has tried to outline an approach that allows" for a structured path "to enhance cooperation between the European Union and Turkey," said Meyer-Landrut.

More cooperation

The "fundamental orientation [of the conclusions] is to try to find ways to increase cooperation" in areas including economic ties and re-launching high-level dialogue with Turkey on issues of mutual concern, he added.

Listing such issues as "public health ... climate, counter-terrorism, but also regional issues," he said the European Council expects continued "de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean," referring to maritime disputes between...