Turkey, EU need concrete steps for positive atmosphere: FM Çavuşoğlu

Turkey and the European Union were set to discuss the renewal of a 2016 migration agreement during a meeting late on Jan. 21, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said ahead of the meeting.

"We conveyed our proposal to update the migration agreement. We will discuss the details of this," Çavuşoğlu said at a joint press conference with the bloc's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, ahead of their meeting in Brussels.

Çavuşoğlu recalled Turkey's proposal to hold a multilateral conference regarding problems in the eastern Mediterranean, noting that he would discuss the matter with Borrell.

Turkey and the European Union will also "evaluate the concrete steps they can take in the upcoming period, including visa liberalization and updating the customs union agreement," he noted.

"It is important to establish a positive atmosphere in Turkey-EU ties, and concrete steps are needed to make it sustainable," the minister said.

A political will has emerged from both sides to create a more positive atmosphere in EU-Turkey ties following the release of a joint statement at the bloc summit last month, Çavuşoğlu said, noting that both sides had made mutual positive statements to better relations. "We provided a better opportunity for dialogue. That's why I'm in Brussels today," Çavuşoğlu said.

The minister said he was in Brussels to hammer out the details for a visit by EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel to Turkey following an invitation from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

There are serious problems in the region, meaning Turkey-EU cooperation is vital in the search for a solution, the minister said.

Borrell, meanwhile, said Turkey and the European Union had started the new year in a positive atmosphere and that...