Turkey warns EU migrant deal facing "a very dangerous moment"

PanARMENIAN.Net - A controversial migrant deal between the EU and Turkey is facing "a very dangerous moment" as the two sides wrangle over Ankara's fulfillment of its terms, a Turkish minister warned Wednesday, May 11, according to AFP.

"All the agreements we have achieved until now, built on confidence, goodwill, taking responsibilities, and also taking political risks, is facing a very dangerous moment," Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir said at a news conference with European Parliament President Martin Schulz.

His remarks highlight growing tensions between the two sides over a landmark deal in March under which Turkey agreed to help stem the migrant flow to Europe in return for political incentives and billions of euros in aid from Brussels.

Bozkir said Turkey had basically fulfilled the terms of the deal, even though Brussels is insisting Ankara meet five more benchmarks before Turkish nationals can to enjoy visa-free travel to Europe.

"This is not a mathematics problem. This is a political problem," Bozkir said of the five benchmarks during a visit to the European parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, AFP says.

"Our interpretation is that we have fulfilled our expectations sufficiently enough," he added.

Bozkir reiterated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's opposition to changing Turkey's anti-terror legislation, which the EU says is one of the five outstanding benchmarks left from a list of 72.

It would be "completely impossible" for Turkey to change the anti-terrorism law which is "relevant to European standards", he said.