EU seeking deal with Turkey over refugee crisis

EU leaders were on Thursday night considering a request from Turkey for greater visa liberalisation and up to €3 billion in funds, in exchange for co-operation on the refugee crisis, as the EU seeks to increase its engagement with non-EU countries in its response to the migration crisis.

With Turkey and Syria topping the agenda of Thursday’s EU summit, leaders were asked to endorse an “action plan” negotiated by EU officials in Ankara this week with Turkish president Recip Tayyip Erdogan, which would see the EU accelerate the ongoing EU-Turkish accession talks that have been stalled for years.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker presented the proposal to the summit on Thursday. It had been negotiated by commission vice president Frans Timmermans overnight in Ankara.

More than two million Syrian refugees have arrived in Turkey since the Syrian civil war began more than four years ago, with Turkey emerging as the main transit country for refugees reaching the EU.

Key partner

European Council

president

Donald Tusk

identified Turkey as a key strategic partner for the EU in tackling the migration crisis following his visit to refugee camps there last month, but concerns over human rights standards and scepticism about Turkish EU membership has made many EU member states reluctant to engage fully with its neighbour.

Speaking ahead of her arrival in Brussels, German chancellor Angela Merkel told the German parliament that Turkey must be part of a solution to the migration problem.

“Most war refugees that come to Europe travel via Turkey. We won’t be able to order and stem the refugee movement without working together with Turkey,” she said.

The German chancellor will visit Ankara on Sunday, less than two weeks before the country goes to the polls at a highly sensitive political moment.

But French president François Hollande warned against any rapid moves to lift visa requirements on Turkish citizens, warning that this should not be a precondition for helping to manage migratory flows.

“There will be a process that requires a lot of conditions,” Hollande said. Countries such as Greece and Cyprus were also expected to voice opposition to the proposal.

Letter

In a letter to heads of state ahead of the summit, EU Council president Donald Tusk said that an agreement with Turkey made sense if it effectively reduced the inflow of refugees, but he warned that concessions to Turkey will only be justified if this goal is achieved.

“Turkey, a country which is hosting more than two million Syrian refugees and for many has become a gateway to Europe, is without doubt key,” he told the 28 leaders of the EU.

“My impression from our meeting with President Erdogan last week was that Turkey cannot handle this crisis alone any more. Turkey is ready to co-operate closely.”

Speaking on his way into the summit, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that Ireland would support the opening of some pre-accession chapters for Turkey, adding that Ireland “does not have a problem” with visa liberalisation.

‘Significant numbers’

“There are very significant numbers of people, refugees, in Turkey,” Mr Kenny said. “And obviously the commission and council are responding here in terms of assistance and the opening up of some of the pre-accession chapters for discussion with Turkey.

“Obviously this has implications for some other countries, and that will be a source of discussion this evening.”

He also called for a review of the Dublin convention, which obliges refugees to seek asylum in the EU country where they first arrive.

“There has been talk in the last council meeting of the Dublin accord. That’s the law . . . but if it’s ineffective and it needs to be strengthened, then that should be done also. I would be recommending that the council would look at the question of how you would make that more effective in everybody’s interest.”

Earlier this week, Frontex said that 710,000 refugees had entered the EU in the first nine months of the year.