Johannes Hahn: 'EU Should Change its Approach Towards Turkey'

According to TASS, Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn told this in an interview to Suddeutsche Zeitung. 

He remarked that Turkey’s interference in pre-election campaigns of the European countries, as well as requests for extradition of political opponents is unacceptable. 

“I think that it is high time for all EU countries to discuss the strategic consequences of such a behavior. It is aunacceptable to shrug our shoulders and admit this approach as a long-term political strategy,” Hahn said. 

Mediamax noted that Johannes Hahn stated in April of 2015 that Turkey's backlash against European countries that call Ottoman Turks' 1915 massacre of Armenians “genocide” will complicate Ankara's ambitions to join the European Union.

“This (Turkey’s harsh reaction – ed.) may be quite popular in parts of the country and among certain parts of the population. But I am really worried about the long-term consequences. The seeds of anti-European and anti-Western stance are thus sown, which from today's perspective makes a future (EU) entry very difficult,” Johannes Hahn told Der Standard back then.

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