European Council

In a statement on Dec. 7, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan underlined that Turkey was on the eve of "very crucial" decisions on the European Union, in reference to ongoing negotiations on granting visa liberalization to Turkish citizens. 

“Greece has to become competitive to regain the trust of the markets and that is a long road”, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble stated during his arrival at the EuroGroup meeting in Brussels, Monday.

The European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution on Nov.

European Union leaders should act reasonably at the European Council's December meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş urged, reiterating that the Turkish government had dismissed a decision by the European Parliament to recommend a freeze in Turkey's EU accession talks.

Turkey's decades-long relationship with the European Union is now in state of coma. The European Parliament voted the other day in favor of "freezing" the relationship, while Ankara responded in a "we-don't-give-a-damn" sort of mood.

It was not surprising to see President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan playing the migrant card against the European Union on Nov. 25. "Look, if you go further, the border gates will be opened. You should know that," he said.

Oznur Akcali Yilmaz, from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, told BIRN that Thursday's vote in the European Parliament to freeze relations with Turkey should be read as a final attempt by the EU to hold Turkey within the European camp.

The European Parliament's decision to call on the European Commission to freeze accession talks with Turkey is important as it marks a first in the overall enlargement process of the bloc but is unlikely to be implemented due to a complex procedure. 

Omer Celik, Turkey's Minister for EU Affairs said after the European Parliament vote on Thursday that Ankara would take no notice of the MEPs' decision.

 "This decision is not serious for us since there is a significant lack of vision," Celik concluded.

Ankara has stressed the non-binding nature of the vote due to be held at the European Parliament on the future of Turkey's accession talks with the European Union, citing EU Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini's urging that a negative result would have serious consequences in ties with Ankara.