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European Union Plan to Slow Flow of Refugees Stalls as Turkey Makes Demands European Union Plan to Slow Flow of Refugees Stalls as Turkey Makes Demands
(about 5 hours later)
BRUSSELS — Turkey surprised European Union leaders on Monday by hitting them with a steep new set of demands as preconditions to help stem the flow of refugees from Syria and Iraq and other migrants seeking to enter Europe. BRUSSELS — Turkey surprised European Union leaders on Monday by hitting them with a new set of demands if it is to help stem the flow of refugees from Syria and Iraq and other migrants seeking to enter Europe.
The demands at the start of an emergency summit in Brussels included billions in more money, easier access to visas for Turks to go to Europe, and the dramatic acceleration of talks on Turkey’s membership in the bloc, a discussion that has languished for years. At the start of an emergency summit meeting here, Turkey’s prime minister asked for billions of euros in new assistance, easier access to visas for Turks to go to Europe and the dramatic acceleration of talks on Turkey’s membership in the bloc, a discussion that has languished for years.
The toughening of the Turkish position came just days after the government seized Zaman, the country’s largest newspaper, as part of a media crackdown, and underscored Ankara’s seeming attempt to use the migration crisis to its advantage. The toughening of the Turkish position underscored Ankara’s apparent attempt to win more support from Europe if it is going to be expected to insulate the bloc from tens of thousands of new asylum seekers.
Human rights considerations were now likely to be trumped by the urgency of the migration crisis, as time runs down for the bloc to come up with a plan to head off a new surge of migrants in coming weeks. The Turkish demands laid bare the European Union’s weakening position and signaled that the difficulties — and costs — of managing the crisis might only rise the longer it stumbled on.
The Turkish demands, in fact, laid bare the European Union’s weakening position and signaled that the difficulties — and costs — of managing the crisis may only rise the longer it stumbles on. Hoping to avoid a repeat of last year, when hundreds of thousands of refugees overwhelmed authorities from Greece to Germany and beyond, European leaders were weighing whether to declare “closed” the route migrants have taken through the Balkans to Western Europe.
Hoping to avoid a repeat of last year, when hundreds of thousands of refugees overwhelmed authorities from Greece to Germany, and beyond, European leaders were weighing whether to declare “closed” the route migrants have taken through the Balkans to reach Western Europe. But such a step threatens to bottle up migrants in Greece, and has sharply divided European leaders, with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany reluctant to burden Greece, which is trying to regain its economic footing after a crippling six-year debt crisis.
But such a step threatens to bottle up migrants in already hard-pressed Greece, and has sharply divided European leaders, with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany suggesting that it would undo the Continent’s commitment to help those in need.
“You end up in situations like this when you have neglected to build the capacity to deal with the bigger issues of our time,” said Fredrik Erixon, the director of the European Center for International Political Economy, a research group in Brussels.“You end up in situations like this when you have neglected to build the capacity to deal with the bigger issues of our time,” said Fredrik Erixon, the director of the European Center for International Political Economy, a research group in Brussels.
“Turkey now is going to raise the costs for Europe,” he added, “and to such an extent that Europe may not be able to oppose Turkish goals in the region including how to deal with Syria and the Kurds.” “Turkey now is going to raise the costs for Europe,” he added, “and to such an extent that Europe may not be able to oppose Turkish goals in the region, including how to deal with Syria and the Kurds.”
As the meeting got underway, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated calls for the creation of a “safe zone” in Syria where migrants could be free from the violence that has torn the country apart over the last five years. Turkey is fighting Islamic extremists across its border with Syria as part of an international coalition that includes the United States, and it is confronting Kurdish militias that the Turks say are a similarly terroristic threat.
In a televised speech on Monday, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the country had spent $10 billion caring for the Syrian refugees. He said the European Union had been slow to disburse the €3 billion it pledged. “The prime minister is in Brussels right now,” Mr. Erdogan said of Mr. Davutoglu. “I hope he returns with that money.” As the meeting in Brussels got underway, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated calls for a “safe zone” in Syria where migrants could be free from the violence that has torn the country apart over the last five years.
Mr. Davutoglu surprised a handful of European leaders on Sunday night, in a negotiating session that dragged on until nearly 3 a.m., by putting Turkey’s attempts to join the European Union — a process known as accession — on the agenda. In a televised speech on Monday, Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the country had spent $10 billion caring for the Syrian refugees. He said the European Union had been slow to disburse the 3 billion euros (about $3.3 billion) it already pledged to assist refugees in Turkey. “The prime minister is in Brussels right now,” Mr. Erdogan said of Mr. Davutoglu. “I hope he returns with that money.”
“Turkey is ready to work with the E.U.,” Mr. Davutoglu told reporters before the summit meeting on Monday. “Turkey is ready to be a member of the E.U. as well.” He added: “ I hope this summit, which will not focus only on irregular migration but also on the Turkish accession process to the E.U., will be a success story and a turning point in our relations.” The additional money, amounting to about 3 billion euros,  that Turkey requested on Monday was a precondition for curbing new migrants from crossing the Aegean Sea to reach Europe.
Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, which represents the leaders of the 28 nations that make up the European Union, spent last week in the Balkans and in Turkey, in preparation for the Brussels meetings. Mr. Davutoglu also surprised European leaders in a negotiating session that dragged on into Monday morning by putting Turkey’s attempts to join the European Union — a process known as accession — on the agenda.
Last week, he sternly warned migrants who are seeking a better life in Europe, but are not eligible for political asylum, not to come, and Mr. Tusk’s staff drafted a statement declaring that leaders had decided to “close the Western Balkans route” that the migrants have used to reach destinations like Austria, Germany and Sweden. “Turkey is ready to work with the E.U.,” Mr. Davutoglu said on Monday. “Turkey is ready to be a member of the E.U. as well.” He added: “I hope this summit, which will not focus only on irregular migration but also on the Turkish accession process to the E.U., will be a success story and a turning point in our relations.”
Ms. Merkel said on Monday that “we want to fight illegal immigration and that is only possible in cooperation with Turkey,” but she was said to resist the wording of Mr. Tusk’s statement. Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, which represents the leaders of the 28-nation European Union, included language about closing the Balkan route in a draft of a summit meeting statement, reinforcing his blunt warning last week to migrants who are seeking a better life in Europe but are not eligible for political asylum.
However, Ms. Merkel, arguably the most influential of the leaders in shaping the European Union’s policies, appeared to be facing pressures from all around her. Ms. Merkel said on Monday that “we want to fight illegal immigration and that is only possible in cooperation with Turkey,” but she, in particular, is concerned about trapping the migrants in Greece if other options are cut off, and about renewed turmoil there after a debt crisis nearly forced the country out of the eurozone. There are 13,000 migrants stuck on the Greek border with Macedonia.
She, in particular, is concerned about letting the migrants get trapped in Greece and about renewed turmoil there after a crippling debt crisis nearly forced the country out of the eurozone. Germany also has been sharply at odds with a neighbor, Austria, after the government in Vienna restricted the flow of migrants, threatening the bloc’s system of passport-free travel.
Germany also has been sharply at odds with its neighbor, Austria, after the government in Vienna imposed restrictions on the free flow of migrants, threatening the bloc’s system of passport-free travel. Ms. Merkel was reportedly resisting the wording of Mr. Tusk’s statement about closing the Balkan route.
“It cannot be that something will be closed,” Ms. Merkel was quoted by German news agency DPA as saying about the Western Balkans route ahead of the meeting. Others would like to see European borders stay shut.
Yet some 13,000 migrants have been stuck along the Greek border with Macedonia, around the village of Idomeni, prompting the governor there to declare a state of emergency. “If we bring migrants from Greece or Turkey directly into Europe, that’s an invitation to waltz,” Hungary’s right-wing prime minister, Viktor Orban, told reporters here. He added: “Borders must be closed, and direct resettlement is out of the question, at least as far as Hungary is concerned.”
Others would like to see European borders stay shut, however. Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, where voters will decide on June 23 on whether to remain in the European Union, said on Twitter that “I’m making clear the U.K.’s special status means we keep our own strong borders.” He added: “The U.K. will not join a common asylum process in Europe — we have an absolutely rock solid opt-out.”
“If we bring migrants from Greece or Turkey directly into Europe, that’s an invitation to waltz, fuel to the fire,” Hungary’s right-wing prime minister, Viktor Orban, told reporters in Brussels. “It will only result in even more arrivals.” The record flow of more than one million migrants to the Continent last year exposed the inadequacy of the European Union’s response to the geopolitical and humanitarian crisis triggered by Syria’s civil war.
He added: “Borders must be closed, and direct resettlement is out of the question, at least as far as Hungary is concerned.” Even with restraints in countries like Austria and Sweden, more than 140,000 people have arrived in the European Union by sea so far this year.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, where voters will decide on June 23 on whether to remain in the European Union, said on Twitter that “I’m making clear the U.K.’s special status means we keep our own strong borders.” He added: “The U.K. will not join a common asylum process in Europe — we have an absolutely rock solid opt-out.” Now much of the attention is on how to stop migrants from reaching Europe in the first place — and to distinguish Syrians and Iraqis, whose claims to asylum are generally viewed sympathetically, from migrants who are fleeing poverty and chaos elsewhere.
The record flow of more than one million migrants to the Continent last year exposed the inadequacy of the European Union’s response to the geopolitical and humanitarian crisis triggered by Syria’s five-year-old civil war. For many years, Turkey has ostensibly been a candidate for membership in what is now the European Union, but Mr. Erdogan’s authoritarian turn has made that seem like an ever more distant prospect. Human rights observers reacted angrily to a comment over the weekend in which the German interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, said: “We should not be referees when it comes to human rights.”
Even with restraints in countries like Austria and Sweden, 130,000 people have arrived in the European Union so far this year and applied for asylum. Some critics have said that instead of relying on Turkey, the European Union should focus on helping Greece manage the buildup of people there, while creating an effective coast guard, in cooperation with NATO, to protect the country’s coastlines.
Now much of the attention is on how to stop migrants reaching Europe in the first place — and to distinguish Syrians and Iraqis, whose claims to asylum are generally viewed sympathetically, from migrants who are fleeing poverty and chaos elsewhere. But that approach, European officials say, wouldn’t solve the problem of migrants getting on boats in the first place.
“We want to fight illegal immigration and that is only possible in cooperation with Turkey,” Ms. Merkel said on Sunday.
For many years, Turkey has ostensibly been a candidate for membership in what is now the European Union, but Mr. Erdogan’s authoritarian turn have made that seem like an ever more distant prospect. Human rights observers reacted angrily to a comment over the weekend in which the German interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, said: “We should not be referees when it comes to human rights.”
Some critics have said that instead of relying on Turkey’s help, the European Union should instead focus on helping Greece manage the buildup of people within its borders, while creating an effective coast guard — in cooperation with NATO — to protect the country’s coastlines.
But that approach, European officials say, still wouldn’t solve the problem of migrants getting on boats in the first place.