Juncker warns Turkey on visa deal

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered a personal warning to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that he would be held responsible if Ankara fails to meet EU criteria for granting Turks visa-free travel.

Juncker said 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," Reuters cited him as saying.

And if visas were not eased, he said, 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.