Displaying items by tag: political relationships

Turkey-EU ties are currently marked by mutual resentments and appear to be going nowhere. In a sign of the times, Brussels is withholding 175 million euros in pre-accession funds for Turkey, which on paper remains a candidate for EU membership. Ankara says it doesn’t need EU money or membership, but it is developing ties with individual EU members, which seems to be a search for another kind of relationship with Europe. French president Emmanuel Macron, who has emerged as Erdogan’s principal European speaker, said Turkey is a partner in many crises Europe faces, notably the immigration challenge and the terrorist threat. Countries such as Germany and France are angry about EU citizens arrested in Turkey on what they say are trumped-up charges linking them to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) or the so-called Fethullah Gulen Terror Organisation (FETO). They are accusing Ankara of holding these people hostage.