Brussels willing to hold migration talks with Turkey - envoy

"Turkey is a candidate country and key partner for the EU, Croatia's envoy to the EU said Monday.

Permanent Representative Irena Andrassy was speaking at a press conference on behalf of the rotating presidency of the EU Council, which is to be held by Croatia for the first six months of 2020.

Underlining the EU's willingness to advance discussions on migration with Ankara, Andrassy noted, however, that other geo-strategic and security issues in the Middle East could also affect the council's agenda on migration.

With the Croatian presidency's motto -- strong Europe in a world of challenges -- Andrassy pledged to direct efforts on strengthening security outside as well as inside the bloc.

She said the agenda could also be dominated by the recent rise in tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Andrassy announced that EU foreign ministers would meet to discuss recent events in the coming days, but declined to comment on the EU's plans on de-escalating the situation in the region.

The European Commission is expected to present a new plan to reform the EU's migration system in a few months, and the Croatian presidency is also working on an overarching document to reinforce the internal security of the EU.

One of the main challenges will be to strike a new deal with Turkey on migration. By the end of 2019, the EU fully mobilized and paid half of the promised aid of €6 billion ($6.65 billion) for refugees in Turkey. A deal reached with Ankara in 2016 supports Turkey's efforts to host 3.5 million Syrian refugees by financing projects in education, healthcare, infrastructure and developing the economy.

The EU Council is the main decision-making body in the EU, it is composed of government ministers from every member state. The Croatian presidency will chair meetings and will hold more than 1,400 at various levels in Croatia during the country's presidency in the first half of 2020.

Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards' elite Quds force, was killed in a U.S. drone strike outside Baghdad's airport on Friday.

Soleimani's slaying marked a dramatic escalation in tensions between the U.S. and Iran, which have often been at a fever pitch since President Donald Trump chose in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw Washington from a nuclear pact world powers struck with Tehran.