Berlin: Germany, EU Have No Reason to Doubt Migrant Deal With Turkey

The German government's spokesman said there was no reason to question the EU-Ankara migrant deal.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — Neither Europe, nor Germany have a reason to question the EU-Turkey migrant deal after Ankara ties with Islamists have been revealed, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said Wednesday.

"Neither Germany, nor Europe have a reason to question this significant agreement," Seibert said, answering a question if the German assessment of the deal would change following media reports that Turkey was described as "platform of action for Islamist groups."

On Tuesday, German media reported citing a note by the federal government that Turkey’s ruling party and its president have been supporting for years Islamists in Syria, Egypt and Palestine. The Turkish Foreign Ministry denied the allegations and described them as "attempts to weaken our country through attacks on our president and government."

In March, the European Union and Turkey agreed on a deal, under which Ankara pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the European Union through its territory, in exchange Syrian refugees accommodated in Turkey would be relocated to the bloc on a one-for-one basis. In return, the bloc pledged to accelerate Turkey's EU accession bid and introduce a visa-free regime.

In May, the European Commission recommended that the European Parliament vote on visa-free regime for Turkey only once the country had met all 72 conditions stipulated by Brussels, notably those related to data protection and anti-terrorism laws, among other issues.

Ankara has not yet fulfilled the five conditions that relate to data protection and anti-terror laws.