Government agrees to Turkey's EU membership - if and when it satisfied criteria

The government is following the previous administration’s policy with regards to Turkey’s bid for European Union membership, the Prime Minister said this evening

Dr Muscat was making a ministerial statement in Parliament following Sunday’s meeting of the EU heads of government with Turkey and his participation in the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The government and the Opposition agreed with Turkey’s membership, but only if and when the country satisfied the membership criteria.  Opposition leader Simon Busuttil expressed his view this was difficult in the short to medium term.

During Sunday’s meeting, the European Union pledged an initial €3 billion to support Turkey’s efforts to manage the migratory flow from Syria.  Currently 2.2 million Syrian migrants are residing in Turkey.

Referring to the COP 21, Dr Muscat explained the government’s commitment to the EU targets and plan of action on climate change. 

He underscored that the Paris Climate conference had also confirmed that terrorism did not paralyse the international community from addressing the challenges.