EU hopeful Turkey will curb refugee flow
BRUSSELS: EU leaders expressed guarded optimism before a summit with Turkey yesterday that Ankara was finally ready to act to curb a flood of refugees crossing illegally into Europe.
They also voiced concern, tinged with embarrassment, that increased Turkish cooperation coincided with a crackdown on media freedom that ran counter to cherished European values.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the half- day meeting would also address Ankara’s bid to join the EU and he hoped for a “turning point”, adding that Turkey was indispensable for the EU, just as Europe was for Turkey.
With tens of thousands of refugees stranded in Greece by closing borders, the summit will formally declare closed the Balkan route from Greece to Germany, diplomats said.
Leaders will pledge help to Athens to cope with the backlog and seek assurances that Turkey, with Nato naval back-up in the Aegean, will stop people smugglers putting refugees to sea.
Greece said it would deliver within a week on its pledges to shelter 30 000 refugees.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, spent five hours talking with Davutoglu in Brussels until the early hours of yesterday morning to try to nail down commitments to halt the refugee flow after more than one million people – mostly Syrians, Iraqis and Afghans – entered Europe last year, most ending up in Germany.
“I am sure these challenges will be solved through our cooperation and Turkey is ready to work with the EU,” Davutoglu said.
“Turkey is ready to be a member of the EU as well.
“Today I hope this summit will not just focus on irregular migration but also the Turkish accession process to the EU.” Merkel, who faces a political backlash against her welcome for the refugees in three regional elections on Sunday, requested the emergency summit to show voters the EU is acting to resolve the crisis.
Before the summit, EU officials told Davutoglu of their concerns about human rights after the Turkish government seized control of a critical newspaper, top-selling daily Zaman.
European Parliament president Martin Schulz said he had told the Turkish premier that media freedom was “a non-negotiable element of our European identity” and they had differed sharply.
The refugee crisis meant the EU needed to work with Turkey even if it was in “total disagreement” with its policies, he said.
At the summit, EU leaders will assure Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of help housing refugees now stranded in Greece.