The President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Friday told the European Union (EU) that his country would not change its anti-terror laws in return for visa-free travel.
” Intead we’ll go our way, you go yours,” he told the EU leadership.
The EU insists Turkey needs to narrow its definition of terrorism to qualify for visa-free travel – which is part of a larger deal between the sides aimed at easing Europe’s migration crisis.
Mr Erdogan was speaking a day after his Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, who largely negotiated the EU deal, said he was stepping down.
Mr Davutoglu had also reportedly opposed Mr Erdogan’s plan to give more power to the presidency. Mr Erdogan said the proposed constitutional changes were a national need, not a personal requirement.
The wide-ranging EU-Turkey deal involves the return of migrants, mainly Syrians, from Greece to Turkey, along with increased aid and other measures.
One of these is to allow Turkish citizens visa-free travel for short stays in the EU’s Schengen area which comprises 22 EU and four non-EU members.
However, the EU wants Turkey to narrow its broad definition of terrorism to match tighter EU standards. It is one of five EU criteria Turkey still has to agree to in order to meet the visa-free requirements.
Image caption Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday he was stepping down, but pledged loyalty to Mr Erdogan
Mr Erdogan rejected this, saying in a televised speech on Friday: “Turkey, when it’s under attack from terrorist organisations from all sides, the European Union is telling us to change the anti-terror law in exchange for the visa deal.”
Referring to tents erected by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, near the EU parliament in Brussels, Mr Erdogan said: “You will let terrorists build tents and provide them with opportunities in the name of democracy.
“And then [you] will tell us ‘if you change this [anti-terrorism legislation], I will lift the visas’. Sorry, we’ll go our way, you go yours.”