Page 14 - bne IntelliNews 26th May

Southeast Europe
May 26, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 14
Brussels, their first in nine months. Erdogan is yet to comment on the meeting.
Before travelling to Brussels, Erdogan had told reporters in Ankara on May 24 that it was time for the EU to decide on its stance towards Turkey. “We don’t aim to break away from the EU, but the EU shall take its responsibilities, too. The EU cannot see Turkey [as] a beggar at its door. It does not have such a right... that’s what we’ll tell them,” he said, Hurriyet Daily News reported.
“The nightmare scenario did not happen. The ties between Turkey and the European Union were not severed as a result of Erdogan’s discussions in Brussels,” wrote Murat Yetkin, a columnist
for Hurriyet Daily News, on May 26.
“Despite the public pressure in their respective countries to isolate Turkey... EU leaders seemingly
decided to try to improve relations through dia- logue,” Yetkin concluded.
In Brussels, Erdogan also met with French coun- terpart Emmanuel Macron. They agreed to boost annual trade to €20bn and to improve Ankara’s diplomatic ties with the EU, Turkish presidential sources said, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
During the meeting, Macron also raised the is- sue of Mathias Depardon, a French photographer detained by Turkish police on May 8 while on an assignment in Turkey’s southeast for National Geographic magazine, French officials told news agencies. Depardon started a hunger strike in protest on May 20.
Erdogan reportedly told Macron that he would quickly look into the situation.
COUNTRY REPORTS
Check out IntelliNews Pro’s Country Reports covering the 30 countries in Central & Eastern Europe/Commonwealth of Independent States.
A monthly round up of the most important economic, finance, business and political events, the reports are aimed at busy professional investors and companies that need to keep on top of the story.
To subscribe to the reports delivered by email get in touch with our sales staff for a trial.
T. +44 203 633 2008 E. sales@intellinews.com
Or go to bne.eu/welcome to see samples of this and other products.