Merkel says ready to support faster Turkish EU bid

PanARMENIAN.Net - German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered Turkey the prospect of support for faster progress on its bid to join the European Union on Sunday, October 18, in return for cooperation in stemming the flow of migrants and taking back those rejected by Europe.

Speaking in Istanbul at a joint news conference with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Merkel said Germany could help accelerate the path to visa-free travel to the EU for Turks and push forward Ankara's protracted EU membership talks.

In return, she expected Turkey to agree more quickly to take in migrants sent back by the EU, so-called "readmission agreements" that Davutoglu has said he will sign up to only if there is progress on liberalizing the visa regime for Turks.

"I think we have used the crisis we are experiencing, through a very disorderly and uncontrolled movement of refugees, to again achieve closer cooperation on many issues, both between the European Union and Turkey, and between Germany and Turkey," Merkel said after meeting the Turkish premier.

Merkel, who only 10 days ago reiterated her opposition to Turkey joining the EU, said the talks were "very promising". Faster Turkish accession may be hard for some in her conservative party, long opposed to Turkish membership, to swallow.

Dubbed a "punch-bag" for her own party by some German media due to frustrations over the refugee crisis, Merkel wants to cement a European deal with Turkey on aid and closer ties in return for help in encouraging refugees there to stay put.

Both the Turkish and German leaders said they had agreed there could be no lasting solution to the migration crisis without resolving the conflict in Syria, from where more than 2 million refugees have now fled to Turkey.