Turkey has brushed off the offer of EU membership in exchange for halting the refugee influx as “bribery”, hours after European leaders sought to buy the country’s co-operation at a price of £2 billion.
Racep Tayyip Erdogan, the man Europe hopes can hold back a vast new wave of migrants, ridiculed an offer of visas, cash and a fresh chapter of accession talks drawn up by European leaders last night.
If Brussels wants his co-operation, nothing less than full EU membership will do, the president said, adding that the offer did not appear to be “sincere”.
“The West and Europe's security and stability is contingent on our security and stability. They have accepted this now. So if it can't happen without Turkey, why don't you take Turkey into the EU? The problem is clear but they are not open,” he said.
Mr Erdogan’s determination to drive a hard bargain with Europe came as Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, prepared to travel to Turkey this weekend to try build momentum for a workable deal with Ankara. » | Matthew Holehouse, Brussels and Peter Foster, Europe Editor | Friday, October 16, 2015
