EU delegation due in Turkey on Friday

ANKARA

On Friday an EU delegation will pay a working visit to Ankara focused on Turkey-EU relations and migration, according to Turkey's Foreign Ministry.

During meetings in the capital Ankara, Margaritis Schinas, European Commission vice-president and commissioner for protecting the European way of life, and Ylva Johansson, commissioner for home affairs, will exchange views on all aspects of Turkish-EU relations and cooperation on migration issues, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"Schinas and Johansson paying their first official visits within the context of their new tenures to Turkey, an EU candidate country, confirms the importance EU places on close relations and cooperation with our country, especially on migration and security issues," it added.

Turkey applied for EU membership in 1987 and its accession talks began in 2005. But negotiations stalled in 2007 due to the objections of the Greek Cypriot administration as well as opposition from Germany and France.

Turkey and the EU signed a refugee deal in March 2016, which aimed to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving the conditions of nearly 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.