EU Ambassador to Turkey Will Resign Without Specifying Reason

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — In May, Haber was summoned by the Turkish Foreign Ministry over his criticism of Ankara's implementation of the EU-Turkey migration deal.

"I can indeed confirm that Ambassador Haber who is actually the head of European Union's delegation in Ankara resigned and he will be leaving his post as of August 1 this year," Kocijancic told reporters, adding that Brussels will send a new envoy to Ankara shortly.

In March, Brussels and Ankara agreed to a deal under which Turkey pledged to take back all undocumented migrants who arrive in the European Union through its territory in exchange for Syrian refugees accommodated in Turkey, on a one-for-one basis in return for a visa-free regime for Turkish nationals wishing to visit the Schengen zone.

The European Union has 72 requirements Turkey must meet before visa liberalization, most of them have already been fulfilled by Ankara. However, outstanding sensitive issues include revisions to Turkey’s national anti-terrorism laws, freedom of the press, measures on combating corruption and judicial cooperation. The economic bloc insists that visa-free travel will not be extended to Turkish nationals unless Ankara fulfills all 72 of the EU requirements.