Europe will not respond to Turkey ‘visa blackmail’ says German Vice Chancellor

“There are clear conditions, of which Turkey has still not fulfilled five and therefore the European Union can’t make a decision on the issue of visa liberalization at this point”, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in Berlin on Monday.

The EU-Turkish tussle over visas in exchange for stemming the flow of refugees into Europe has hinged on an EU demand that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan soften Turkey’s anti-terrorism laws.

Gabriel has been among the many European politicians critical of the reported crackdown on political dissent in Turkey, following last month’s attempted coup. The bloc also promised to accelerate the Turkish EU accession and introduce visa-free regime.

“All that is dependent on the cancelation of the visa requirement for our citizens, which is also an item in the agreement of March 18”, Cavusoglu said, as cited by German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

But the failed coup on 15 July has since seen tens of thousands people swept up in a government-led purge. “It may be given in early or mid October, but we are waiting for the final date”.

“The fact is there are conditions for the visa-free policy and they are known to everyone”, he said. “However, it has not yet done so and Turkey still has work to do”, he said, adding: “It won’t help now to give each other ultimatums and utter threats”.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu has warned his country will not hold on to the migrant deal reached with the European Union unless the latter proceeds the visa liberalization the two sides agreed on in the spring.

Chancellor Angela Merkel spearheaded the agreement with Ankara after Germany let in a record 1.1 million migrants and refugees past year. “Turkey has unfortunately become an autocratic state”, said Erika Steinbach, CDU human rights spokeswoman.

“Turkey has unfortunately become an autocratic state”, she said.