Austria urges EU to get tough on Turkey

Austria’s foreign minister said yesterday the EU should change its stance on Turkey following the recent crackdown and stop the flow of billions of euros in aid if Ankara fails to stick to its migrants deal with the bloc. Sebastian Kurz told Oe1 radio that Turkey must “top the agenda” of a meeting of European Union foreign ministers next Monday that should agree a “different EU policy”. “Over recent years Turkey has moved further and further away from the EU, but our policy has remained the same. That can’t work. What we need are clear consequences,” Kurz said. “In Turkey, opposition figures are being arrested, journalists are being persecuted, officials are being fired if they think differently and the return of the death penalty is being talked about.” Under the EU’s deal with Turkey in force since March, the EU has promised an acceleration of accession talks, visa liberalisation and three billion euros ($3.3 billion) in return for taking back migrants who make it to Greece.