Only if Turkey proves being diligently committed to its European course and refrains from provocative actions can there be a positive agenda, stressed Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis during today’s virtual meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, which took place ahead of the European Council meeting on the 25 and 26 March. He also pointed to the importance of adopting the Prime Minister’s proposal for the creation of a European vaccination certificate ahead of the tourism season.
He described EU High Representative Josep Borrell’s report on EU-Turkey relations as balanced, in spite of some omissions, highlighting that a positive agenda with Turkey rests on conditions. “The positive agenda must not reward Turkey for simply returning to the exploratory talks with Greece, but correspond to a consistent Turkish alignment with the European values and the European law. Turkey must prove that it is willing to resolve differences through dialogue and in accordance with International Law. And it has to do this in a permanent, sincere and consistent way”, he noted.
The Alternate Minister also highlighted that Turkey’s recent withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women, as well as the targeting of prominent HDP MPs “shows that there is lack of will to promote the human rights agenda in Turkey”. He also reminded that Turkey had not adopted the “Athens Declaration” in the context of the Greek Chairmanship of the Council of Europe, which concerned protection of women’s rights and prevention of domestic violence. Further, he stressed the importance of the Convention on protecting women in the midst of the pandemic.
Mr. Varvitsiotis also noted the need for Turkey to implement the Joint Statement it signed with the EU in 2016, pointing to the Borrell report’s reference to Turkey’s obligation to accept the return of 1,450 migrants who are in Greece and whose applications for asylum have been rejected.
Finally, the Alternate Minister, in the context of the discussion of European coordination against the pandemic, stressed to his European colleagues the importance of accelerating vaccinations and of adopting the Prime Minister’s proposal for a European Vaccination Certificate – the “Digital Green Certificate” presented by the European Commission – ahead of the tourism season.
