BRUSSELS: European Union foreign ministers agreed on Thursday that the bloc should re-engage with Turkiye, but set some conditions and did not endorse Ankara’s calls to revive its moribund membership bid.
Turkiye has been an official candidate to join the EU for 24 years, but accession talks have stalled since 2016 over the bloc’s concerns about human rights violations and respect for the rule of law.
But on July 10, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in an unexpected move, called for a re-opening of Ankara’s accession talks, linking the idea to Turkiye’s approval of Sweden’s bid to join the NATO military alliance.
“We discussed how to re-engage with Turkiye,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a press conference after a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Brussels.
“We are convinced there is a reciprocal interest to develop a stronger relationship between Turkiye and the European Union.”
But he noted the EU wanted Turkiye to show movement too, especially on the issue of EU member Cyprus, the northern part of which was invaded by Turkiye in 1974 and has since been under occupation.
“Solving the Cyprus issue in line with the relevant United Nations resolutions will be key in this re-engagement with Turkiye,” Borrell said.
“Also, upholding fundamental freedoms and values as defined by the European Convention of Human Rights, of which Ankara is part of, will be essential.”
Ankara expects concrete progress from the EU on issues such as visa-free travel, as well as closing some chapters in the EU accession process, a senior Turkish official told Reuters earlier this month, adding that the West needed to support Turkiye in its financial needs.
EU ready to re-engage with Turkiye, but sets conditions
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EU ready to re-engage with Turkiye, but sets conditions
- Turkiye’s accession to EU stalled since 2016 over concerns about human rights violations, respect for the rule of law
Israeli FM urges Jews to move to Israel a week after Sydney attack
- “Today I call on Jews in England, Jews in France, Jews in Australia, Jews in Canada, Jews in Belgium: come to the Land of Israel! Come home!” Saar said
JERUSALEM: Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called on Sunday for Jews in Western countries to move to Israel to escape rising antisemitism, one week after 15 were shot dead at a Jewish event in Sydney.
“Jews have the right to live in safety everywhere. But we see and fully understand what is happening, and we have a certain historical experience. Today, Jews are being hunted across the world,” Saar said at a public candle lighting marking the last day of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
“Today I call on Jews in England, Jews in France, Jews in Australia, Jews in Canada, Jews in Belgium: come to the Land of Israel! Come home!” Saar said at the ceremony, held with leaders of Jewish communities and organizations worldwide.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, Israeli leaders have repeatedly denounced a surge in antisemitism in Western countries and accused their governments of failing to curb it.
Australian authorities have said the December 14 attack on a Hanukkah event on Sydney’s Bondi Beach was inspired by the ideology of the Islamic State jihadist group.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged Western governments to better protect their Jewish citizens.
“I demand that Western governments do what is necessary to fight antisemitism and provide the required safety and security for Jewish communities worldwide,” Netanyahu said in a video address.
In October, Saar accused British authorities of failing to take action to curb a “toxic wave of antisemitism” following an attack outside a Manchester synagogue on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, in which two people were killed and four wounded.
According to Israel’s 1950 “Law of Return,” any Jewish person in the world is entitled to settle in Israel (a process known in Hebrew as aliyah, or “ascent“) and acquire Israeli citizenship. The law also applies to individuals who have at least one Jewish grandparent.zz
