EU’s Turkish visa deal will open the door to terrorists
EUROPE faces an increased terror threat because of the EU deal to give visa-free access to Turkey, a Brussels report admitted yesterday.
The danger is expected to come from fanatics posing as Turks to target major European cities.
About 75 million Turkish citizens will be free to enter the European Schengen “borderless” zone next month. The move is a concession to secure Turkey’s support for a wider package of border control measures.
But the European Commission report claimed terrorists and gangsters will take advantage of compromised security.
The verdict bolsters ex-MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove’s warning against giving free access to the Turks when migration into Europe is expected to soar over the next five years.
Visas allow the fingerprints of people entering Europe to be logged on a single database which can be searched by counter-terrorist squads. This extra level of security will be removed under the deal on condition that Turkey helps stop migrants flooding into Europe over the Mediterranean.
Sir Richard told the BBC the move would have massive social and political consequences.
He said: “To offer visa-free access to 75 million Turks to stem the flow of migrants across the Aegean seems perverse. It’s like storing gasoline next to the fire one is trying to extinguish.”
Major General Tim Cross, a retired Army officer, backed his remarks, arguing that they showed Britain should leave the EU.
He said: “Will the UK be able to maintain control of its interests – including its borders – inside or outside of an EU that is failing its people on far too many issues. Including immigration.”
Major Cross, who held a senior Coalition position in Iraq after the 2003 Gulf War, added: “My answer is that we are better out.”
Defence minister and “Leave” campaigner Penny Mordaunt said Sir Richard’s comments confirmed it was safer for the UK to leave the EU and control its borders.
Steven Woolfe, Ukip’s migration spokesman, warned: “If we stay in the EU, we will continue to have no control over our borders.
“We already have thousands of Jihadi terrorists in Europe.
“Intelligence says that it is only a matter of time before another terrorist attack occurs.”
The EC report said: “The proposed visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens travelling to the EU could potentially have an impact on the terrorist risk in the EU.”
In another report yesterday, Europol and Interpol warned that people smugglers made more than £3.5billion from the illegal traffic into Europe last year.