EU on rising Turkey tensions after Erdogan comments

Tensions between the European Union and Turkey have risen further after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned the mental state of his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron.

Several EU officials harshly criticized Erdogan's comments over the weekend and the bloc's executive arm, the European Commission, said on Monday that the Turkish leader should change his approach if he does not want to derail the bloc's attempts at renewed dialogue with his country.

Erdogan said Saturday that Macron needed his head examined.

At a summit earlier this month, EU member states agreed to review Turkey's behavior in December and threatened to impose sanctions if Erdogan's "provocations" do not stop, a council statement said.

EU spokesman Peter Stano said Monday he did not exclude an urgent meeting of EU ministers at an earlier date following Erdogan's latest comments.

Still, Stano insisted that Turkey remains a very important partner for the 27-nation bloc.

The increase in tensions has not helped Turkey's negotiations on joining the EU, the world's biggest trade bloc, which began in 2005 but have stood at a standstill in recent years.

Turkey is the EU's fifth-largest trading partner and the bloc relies on Ankara to stop migrants from entering the bloc through its borders with Greece and Bulgaria.