Unfortunately, the leaders of one of the most powerful partnership of nations on the planet, a vast mechanism of facilitating officials and seasoned politicians came out of the EU building late at night just to announce that they have started to see how a solution can be formed…in the next meeting which is scheduled to take place ten days from now. The result was probably not very reassuring for the tens of thousands of desperate migrants who were forced to spend another night in rain soaked tents at the closed borders between Greece and Fyrom, nor will they be of any use to those who will risk their lives in order to cross the Aegean in a flimsy inflatable today and tomorrow. But the result was, undeniably in complete accordance with the way Europe deals with the problems it faces; slow, inconclusive, easily reversible.
The EU leaders negotiated with the Turkish PM, Ahmet Davutoglu, as Turkey is one of the main recipients of the Syrian refugees as well as migrants from other African countries. From Turkey hundreds of thousand cross over to the bordering eastern Greek islands and from there to Greece's northern borders in order to, hopefully, make it to central Europe.
The Greek Prime Minister spoke to the press after the end of the meeting where he explained that Turkey presented the European leaders with a plan which might have even surprised some. He clarified that Turkey offered a lot but also asked for a lot and that the leaders were not ready to answer immediately but needed some more time to conclude. “I think that the results of the summit could only be described as a step forward”, said the Greek PM.
At the meeting, Turkey managed to surprise the European leaders with a set of proposals as well as a set of counter-requests. The main Turkish requests include the easing of visa procedures for Turkish citizens who wish to travel into Europe, the acceleration of talks and procedures leading to Turkey's acceptance as an EU member, and, more money. 3bn Euro on top of the previous 3bn to be exact.
In return, Mr.Davutoglu offered the Europeans a rather complex and questionable deal where Turkey will be obliged to receive back one migrant who has come to Greece (from Turkey) for every migrant she will be sending, in an orderly fashion directly to countries of central Europe. As a country of return, Turkey will be obligated to provide asylum seekers with work, healthcare, education and social help.
As soon as the scheme was described in some form reactions and criticism rose. Guy Verhofstadt, a member of the European Parliament and leader of ALDE said: “There is a sentiment of discomfort on account of the fact that we are trying to shift our problems to Turkey. We are making a deal between EU and Turkey, and in the name of that deal we sacrifice some of our European principles.” On Tuesday, the European director of UNHCR, Vincent Cochetel spoke to a conference in Geneva where he stated that: Collective expulsion of foreigners is prohibited under the European Convention on Human Rights. An agreement that would be tantamount to a blanket return of any foreigners to a third country is not consistent with European law, is not consistent with international law”. As for the hope that this scheme will persuade the refugees to abandon their plans for a perilous crossing across the Aegean from Greece to Turkey, he said: “It may lead to a fragmentation of the route. As long as the conflict is not solved, it's myth to believe that the people will not try to leave. It may dissuade some people from leaving through that route, but it won't dissuade everybody.” It should be noted that the president of the European Commission argued that returning refugees back to Turkey is legal and doesn't go against the Geneva convention since Greece has decided that Turkey is a “safe country”.
The European press reacted with some harsh criticism to the news of the summit. The French Le Monde carried the title “Turkey ups the ante against the EU”. The Guardian calls the scheme a “simplistic solution”. The Sueddeutsche Zeitung noted that: “when one speaks of an upcoming step-up in the negotiations with Turkey, it's all about business”. The Spanish El Pais writes: “Unable and unwilling to resolve the migrant crisis, the EU decided to sidestep and externalize it”.
C.N.