Talks will continue with Turkey says EU’s Mogherini

Turkey’s European Union membership accession talks will continue, said EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Monday, underlining Ankara’s role as a partner in the region.

Her comments followed calls during an election campaign debate on Sunday from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and that country’s main opposition leader Martin Schulz to end talks on Turkey's bid to join the bloc.

“We will continue talks, it will be up to the internal discussions we will have and most of all to the discussions we will have together with them to define the future of our relations,” Mogherini said in the northwestern Slovenian town of Bled, host of the 2017 Bled Strategic Forum.

Mogherini highlighted the presence of Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the forum and its meaning for Europe.

She also described as "good talks" the latest Turkey-EU High-Level Political Dialogue, held in Brussels in late July.

Turkey and the EU are partners

Addressing a forum panel on Monday, Mogherini reiterated that Turkey and the EU are “partners” and work together in many different fields.

She noted that despite having some difficult issues, the “dialogue continues, work on [membership] negotiations continues.”

“We might have an internal discussion in the European Union as they might have an internal discussion in Turkey on whether this will change,” Mogherini said, adding “For the moment, this is not the case.”

Turkey's importance for Europe

Mogherini also stressed Turkey's key regional role for the EU.

“And sometimes we tend to forget that Turkey is a key player in a region that is strategically important for us: the Middle East, the Mediterranean,” said the bloc's foreign policy chief.

She downplayed recent rhetoric from Berlin on the issue of Turkey's EU bid.

"I would suggest that we look beyond what is said in electoral campaigns both in Turkey and the European Union. And I am looking forward to the moment we sit together at the table and find what is going to be future of our relations.”

Merkel repeats criticism of Turkey

Anti-Turkey rhetoric has gained ground in Germany as the country heads to the polls on September 24 to decide the fate of Merkel’s government.

The German chancellor on Tuesday said Turkey was drifting away from the rule of law and vowed to push her EU partners to consider suspending or ending its accession talks at an October meeting.

"I will push for a decisive stand ... But we need to coordinate and work with our partners," she said, adding that it would damage the EU if Turkey saw member states embroiled in an argument. "That would dramatically weaken Europe's position."