Since last Friday, European media, especially from Austria, France and Germany, have continued to discuss several issues related to the migration crisis; mostly focusing on the EU-Turkey relationship. Die Presse notes that the conflict between the EU and Turkey about the lifting of visa requirements continues to escalate after the resignation of Turkish Prime Minister Davutoğlu. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insists that the visa requirements be lifted as part of the refugee deal by the autumn at the latest.
An advisor of Mr Erdoğan recently threatened that “if Europe makes the wrong decision, we will send the refugees.” Despite this indisputable potential for blackmail, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker does not intend to budge one iota when it comes to the EU’s demand that Turkey tone down its anti-terrorism laws. The Guardian says that the first Syrians to be deported by plane under the EU-Turkey deal have been detained in a remote camp for three weeks with no access to lawyers, casting further doubts over EU claims that they are being sent back to a safe third country.
Among today’s commentaries, Die Welt focuses on the Brussels-Ankara agreement and the increasing pressure on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan demands visa exemptions, but hesitates to fulfill the required conditions, among them the demanded changes to Turkey’s anti-terrorism laws. This puts Ms Merkel under pressure since her coalition partner, the SPD, expects her to pursue German and European interests, even though Mr Erdoğan could easily dismiss the EU-Turkey deal; a topic further discussed in the Hungarian press. In a warning tone, Der Tagesspiel’s Thomas Seibert stresses that there are growing signs of an irreparable rift between Turkey and the EU. He accuses President Erdoğan of knowingly risking cooperation with Europe by threatening to send refugees and by refusing to accept all of the EU’s 72 criteria for visa freedom.
According to Mr Seibert, Mr Erdoğan hopes to radically redesign his country’s relationship with Brussels based on what he views as an eye-to-eye partnership. Irish media report on the UN envoy for human rights’ opinion, Francois Crepeau, considering that the agreement between the EU and Turkey to send back migrants reaching Europe required “much stronger legal instruments to ensure legal accountability.” Luxembourg’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Asselborn says, in an interview with Der Kurier, that he does not think Turkey plans to abandon it; alluding to the Brussels-Ankara deal and highlighting that Turkey’s interest in the visa waiver is too significant. For Mr Asselborn, a “yes” to Schengen and freedom of travel automatically involves a share of the migrant burden.
Meanwhile, FYROM Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Poposki granted an interview with Der Standard, in which he talks about the closure of the Western Balkan Route during the refugee crisis. He says the declining number of refugees is not only a result of the deal with Turkey, since the closure of the Macedonian border also signaled to them not to travel through Europe. FYROM is happy to be part of the solution, Mr Poposki stresses, praising the good cooperation with Greece during the refugee crisis. In related news, it is also reported in Bulgarian, Cypriot and Irish media, for instance, that Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, who is also the UN refugee agency’s special envoy, warned – in an interview with the BBC yesterday – that the international humanitarian system for refugees is breaking down.
Ms Jolie further recalled that there are about 60 million refugees and migrants around the world, which is more than at any time in the past 70 years. De Standaard reports that, for the first time since last year in April, migrants reaching the EU through the Mediterranean route have outnumbered the migrants using the Balkan route. The figure confirms the conclusions of a report by the British House of Lords, saying that the Sophia EU migrant operation is a failure. It helped rescuing people but it did not manage to get human traffickers under control. According to the EU, Sophia rescued 14,000 migrants and intercepted 114 boats while according to the Lords, only 69 alleged traffickers were arrested; a topic also discussed in spiegel.de and NPR.However, Le Quotidien, among others, notes that the number of migrants arriving in Greece dropped by almost 90% in April, following the entry into force of the pact between Brussels and Ankara.
Meanwhile, a European Commission report has warned that terrorists are more likely to attack European countries as a result of a deal to offer visa-free travel to Turkish citizens, The Telegraph reports. Foreign terrorists and organised criminals are “expected” to seek Turkish passports to reach continental Europe “as soon as the visa waiver programme comes into force“, the report said. In more general comments regarding the EU’s migration policy, university professor Mónica Ferro criticises, in Diário de Notícias, Europe for having reacted late and poorly, showing to the world our lack of solidarity. Europe revived borders, turned Greece into a scapegoat and helped to revive nationalist movements in countries initially pro-European, she adds.
©europeanunion2016
