Turkey to prioritize EU reforms, expects to see results: FM

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu divulged details from Turkey’s Fourth Reform Action Group Meeting in a joint press conference on Wednesday.

Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey will prioritize reforms linked to its European Union accession process in the coming period and expects to see results from its efforts, including on the issue of visa liberalization.

The foreign minister added that Turkey will work on accelerating political reforms, focusing on the judiciary, freedoms and fundamental rights.

Çavuşoğlu said that talks on updating the customs union with the EU must start again. He also said Turkey did not expect new chapters to be opened regarding its EU accession talks while Austria has the term presidency of the bloc

Justice Minister Gül said his department would prioritize an action plan regarding human rights and the judiciary. He stated that the plan would be revised and steps would be taken to advance human rights matters.

“We will implement the action plan developed with our banks and real sector more effectively. Export and import figures demonstrated a positive indicator. Our aim to reduce current account deficit will continue to be one of our main goals. We will implement policies for fighting inflation in 2019,” Finance Minister Albayrak said.

“We want to build strong infrastructure in Turkey’s financial system so that it may resist regional and global attacks. We will be far more powerful in the new world order,” he added.

Albayrak dubbed the reform meeting as “historic,” and hailed the stance displayed by EU states following attacks by the United States targeting the Turkish economy.

“Over the past few months, there has been turbulence in our region and in global economy caused by the U.S. Countries that have suffered in terms of trade balance have gained motivation to run a new process differently. U.S. moves have sparked question marks in Turkey and many EU countries. I will most likely visit Britain and Germany next week. We will make medium and long term plans with our counterparts,” Albayrak said.

Interior Minister Soylu emphasized that Turkey was a key partner of the EU in matters such as security.

“Turkey is fulfilling its role in areas such as the fight against terror, irregular migration and the war on drugs, and all these matters directly relate to Europe’s security. This meeting clearly confirms the will of Turkey and the EU in favor of reforms. Turkey has remained committed to the March 18 agreement,” Soylu said.

In March 2016, Turkey and the EU signed a deal aiming to stem the irregular migration flow through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving conditions for nearly 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.