FM Stier attends informal meeting of EU foreign ministers (Gymnich)

(Hina) - Croatia believes that it is important to maintain communication with Turkey at the current time of strained relations between Ankara and Brussels, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Davor Ivo Stier said in Malta

(Hina) - Croatia believes that it is important to maintain communication with Turkey at the current time of strained relations between Ankara and Brussels, Croatian Foreign and European Affairs Minister Davor Ivo Stier said in Malta on Saturday.

The EU foreign ministers met with their Turkish colleague in Valletta for the first time since the controversial referendum of April 16 in which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won more extensive powers.

"We stressed our position that it was necessary to keep the communication channel with Turkey open, taking into account the complexity of those relations," said Stier.

The EU said on Friday that the door to the EU would remain open for Turkey regardless of months of verbal conflicts between Ankara and European governments.

However, some more prominent members of the European Parliament and Austria have openly called for discontinuing Turkey's accession talks, claiming that the recent referendum showed that Turkey was getting further away from Europe and its basic values.

The EU ministers also talked with other EU candidates and reiterated that the enlargement policy remained an important instrument in promoting stability in Europe, notably its southeast, said Stier, who held bilateral talks in Malta with his Irish and Maltese counterparts.

More about the meeting:

http://www.eu2017.mt/en/Events/Pages/Informal-Meeting-of-Foreign-Affairs-Ministers-Gymnich.aspx

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