![President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan salutes the people as he gives a speech during the council meeting of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen (TESK) at ATO Congresium in Ankara, Turkey on November 08, 2016 [ Mehmet Ali Özcan / Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/20161108_2_20011743_15821795-e1478701248651.jpg?fit=1199%2C800&ssl=1)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be held responsible if Ankara fails to meet the EU criteria required for Turkish citizens to be exempt from visas to enter the bloc, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned yesterday.
The European Union has agreed to liberalise its visa requirements as part of an agreement signed in March under which Turkey has agreed to all but halt the flow of Syrian refugees and other migrants into the EU via Greece.
But Juncker said in a speech at Bruges that visas would not be eased if Turkey fails to meet criteria, including amendments to its anti-terrorism law.
“Everything the Turkish authorities are doing today leads me to believe that in the end Turkey does not want to be ready to respect European standards,” he said.
“And if visas were not eased, Erdogan would have to explain to Turks why that was so.”
“We need Turkey … but we cannot give up on our main principles,” Juncker concluded.