Turkey, EU pledge closer anti-terrorism collaboration

By Meltem Bulur and Sibel Ugurlu

ANKARA

Turkey and the EU will work closer together to fight terrorism following a joint counter-terrorism meeting, officials said Wednesday.

The meeting in Ankara between EU and Turkish officials on Tuesday resulted in agreement to use international agencies to tackle terrorism, a joint statement from the EU and the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.

“Having underlined the fact that terrorism continues to pose a direct threat to our citizens and democracies, the EU and Turkey emphasized the importance of the need to step up the existing cooperation to counter the ever-evolving threat of terrorism in an effective manner,” the statement said.

It added that the sides would seek to improve cooperation on information-sharing, law enforcement and judicial collaboration. Tackling funding for terrorism would also be a major focus.

The UN Financial Action Task Force, the Global Counter-terrorism Forum and the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL/Daesh were listed as the main vehicles for combating terror.

Turkey has been at the fore of efforts to prevent European Daesh terrorists returning to the continent as the group is driven from Iraq and Syria.

The country is also engaged in battling the PKK and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization responsible for last year’s defeated coup, as well as far-left groups such as the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front.