EU slams Turkey over rights abuses ahead of report on visa waiverApril 28, 2016 - 16:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey's crackdown on the media and reported human rights abuses are pushing the country further away from Europe even as it hopes to join the European Union, a senior EU official said Thursday, The Associated Press reports. European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans told EU lawmakers that "the distance between us and Turkey is not decreasing, it is increasing." "If they want to come closer to Europe — that is what they state — they should improve the situation of the media, of human rights, of civil society," he said. Timmermans is a key negotiator of the widely criticized EU-Turkey agreement to stem the flow of migrants to Greece. Human rights and media freedom groups have repeatedly sounded the alarm over the limited tolerance of dissent shown by authorities in Turkey, where nearly 2,000 legal cases have been opened against people accused of insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan since he came to office in 2014. Timmermans, who is Dutch and a former foreign minister, also emphasized that Turkey must fully respect all the conditions necessary to secure a visa-waiver for its citizens wanting to travel to Europe for short-term leisure or business stays. "The onus is on Turkey. They have to comply with the 72 benchmarks that are in there," he said. "We will not play around with those benchmarks. They are clear, they are legally framed." The Commission on May 4 will release a report on whether Ankara has fulfilled the requirements. If it has, the EU executive will recommend a visa waiver for Turkey by June 30. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. |