Will EU-Turkey agreement help curb flow of refugees into Europe?
Will the latest accord help resolve the massive flow of refugees and migrants to Europe that has been rocking the region?
The leaders of the European Union and Turkey held summit talks and agreed on a framework intended to restrict the movement of refugees and migrants. Under the accord, refugees and migrants who cross from Turkey into Greece illegally will be, in principle, sent back to Turkey from now on.
In return, the EU will take in up to 72,000 Syrian refugees who have gone through proper procedures in Turkey. This is the main pillar of the accord, which will be implemented starting yesterday.
It is aimed at curbing the flow of refugees by closing the main route to Greece across the Aegean Sea.
This will be “a temporary and extraordinary measure,” the EU and Turkey emphasised in their joint statement, referring to the planned return. This reference was probably made to take into account concern that the accord may go against international norms concerning the protection of refugees.
In return for Turkey’s cooperation, the EU will double its disbursement of support for refugees in Turkey to 6 billion euros. The EU has also promised early visa-free travel for Turks to EU countries and the acceleration of talks regarding Turkey’s EU membership.
The Turkish government recently seized control of a newspaper that was critical of the government. The EU has effectively ignored this development, indicating that it cannot afford to put off resolving the refugee issue.
Anti-refugee sentiments
Last autumn, the EU decided on a refugee quota plan for its member countries. But this has hardly been implemented, due to opposition from Hungary and other eastern European countries.
Refugees and migrants who were making their way from Greece to Germany and other EU nations stayed in central and eastern European nations, which became transit points, thus spreading turmoil.
About 2,000 refugees and migrants a day have been arriving in Greece this year.
Some suspect that implementing the latest accord will only cause refugees and migrants to switch their routes to smuggle themselves into Europe, heading from North Africa to Italy.
So critical is the situation that even in Germany – a country that has accepted the largest number of refugees – public opinion against refugees is growing. Anti-refugee sentiments were triggered by sexual crimes on New Year’s Eve by groups of those applying for refugee status and others.
A new, anti-refugee right-wing party made big gains in three German state elections held in the middle of this month. There is no denying that a shadow has fallen on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s leadership.
The EU has a principle of “freedom of movement within the region”, and has promoted the abolition of border checks at the signatory states’ borders in accordance with the Schengen Agreement.
But eight countries, including Germany and Belgium, have reimposed their own border controls to curb the flow of refugees and to fight terrorism.
Should the agreement become a mere scrap of paper, as the case appears to be now, the flow of people and goods within the EU countries may stagnate, bringing about a sizable economic loss.
It is essential for the EU to regain its solidarity, with the accord with Turkey as a turning point, and work on the refugee issue.
