Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik Adressed the Press in Van

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ömer Çelik responded to the questions by the members of the press prior to the Helsinki Policy Forum held in Van.

Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik, who stated that the Forum, which was titled “Opportunities and Challenges in the Middle East” was organised to discuss and resolve issues in the Middle East, said that he addressed recommendations for the resolution of matters, such as the effects of terrorist organisations such as Da’esh, poverty, exclusion and Islamopobic approaches at the Forum.

Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik, when reminded of the work related to the establishment of the Jamaica Coalition in Germany following elections, said that it was the first time that there was such an unsettling situation as that of the persons from the far right who held intolerable views being in parliament.

When asked about the decrease in the contributions of Türkiye, one of the sixth largest donors, to the Council of Europe, Minister Ömer Çelik said that a situation such as awarding members of FETÖ demonstrated that these institutions did not act with common sense and took guided decisions.

Regarding the statement by President of the EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker on the second 3 billion euro allocated to Türkiye for Syrians, Minister Ömer Çelik said.

"Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Juncker say that they are committed to this, but the headline may be that the relation between commitments and implementation has been severed. We can no longer see this. It is time for the second 3 billion euro. While there is currently very little time for even this, not even one third of the first allocation has been delivered to Türkiye.”

Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik, who underlined that the money allocated would be used for the education of children, said: “This money will probably not reach Türkiye until these children are of the retirement age due the inability of the EU to manage funds or fulfil commitments.”

Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik, who pointed out that the gap between making and keeping promises had increased in the EU, said: “I hope that the EU will create a fund management system in line with the emergency situation apart from tradition fund management methods.”