Merkel ‘Should Not Sell All European Values As If At Bazaar'

The CSU does not want the refugee crisis to turn into a blackmail tool for Turkey. Europe should avoid dependence on Ankara and not give in to its pressure, German newspaper Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten (DWN) wrote.

The newspaper cited CSU politician Markus Ferber who warned against close relations between Europe and Turkey.

"The EU must be careful of not letting itself be pushed around and at any price shouldn't close its eyes to the serious missteps (of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan) in Turkey and Syria," Ferber said Wednesday, cited by the newspaper.

On November 29, the European Union and Turkey approved a joint plan to counter the influx of migrants into the bloc, under which EU member states will give some 3 billion euros to Ankara and fast track the negotiations for its accession to the 28-nation bloc.

However, Ferber opposed such kind of cooperation, saying that Europe should not become too dependent on the Ankara government. With regard to the planned EU-Turkey summit, he said that European states should reconsider their policy and continue to search for other possible ways to resolve the current refugee crisis.

"I am convinced that we shouldn't sell all our values at the summit as if at the bazaar," the politician said, adding that the EU seeks to strike a deal with a government "that doesn't stick to Western values and suppresses the freedom of expression in its own country."

The EU-Turkey summit is set to take place on March 7, when both parties are planning to discuss the progress in the resolution of the refugee crisis. The meeting is expected to reveal whether Europe managed to reduce the refugee influx through cooperation with Ankara.