European Union membership is a strategic objective for Ankara and the proposed lifting of visa requirements for Turkish citizens travelling to the EU will speed up Turkey's accession to the bloc, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

“We believe that accession to the EU […] will help in the successful struggle” against the challenges of the “migration crisis originating from Syria, Iraq and other conflict zones and also be a source of stability and inspiration for the region,” Erdogan said in a statement on the occasion of Europe Day on Monday, according to hurriyetdailynews.com.

The statement marks “an apparent attempt to clarify Ankara’s position” on the EU-Turkey migration deal three days after Erdogan vowed that Turkey won’t change its anti-terrorism laws to win visa-free travel to the EU for its citizens, the Turkish daily said.

Erdogan said last week that Turkey won’t change its anti-terrorism laws to win visa-free travel to the EU for its citizens.

The European Commission wants Ankara to bring Turkish anti-terrorism legislation in line with European standards by narrowing its legal definition of terrorism in order to qualify for visa-free travel of Turkish citizens in the EU’s passport-free Schengen area. Last week, the European Commission gave provisional backing for visa liberalization with Turkey, tying its consent to the condition that Ankara met the remaining five benchmarks for visa-free travel – including a change to Turkey’s anti-terrorism legislation - by the end of June.

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