{
"authors": [
"Marc Pierini"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"Carnegie Europe"
],
"collections": [
"Turkey’s Transformation"
],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
"programAffiliation": "EP",
"programs": [
"Europe"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"Europe",
"Türkiye",
"Middle East",
"Western Europe",
"Iran"
],
"topics": [
"EU",
"Migration"
]
}
Source: Getty
An agreement between the EU and Turkey to curb the influx of refugees is being hampered by a lack of trust between the parties and by mutual misunderstandings.
Source: Euronews
Gulsum Alan, Euronews: Is it a realistic agreement? Do you think it will work?
Marc Pierini: It was a kind of horse trading by the EU and Turkey, which had no chances of working, or which at least would have immense difficulties. And that’s where we are now. The difficulties are part and parcel of the conception, as it’s about trading promises on visas and on accession talks against help for refugees, which are things that have no link between each other.Alan: How should Turkey manage the influx of refugees, which is constantly increasing, while at the same time, make sure they don’t head towards the doors of the EU?
Pierini: The problem is that on the Aegean coast, there is a mafia that makes astronomic profits, a billion euros, if not two billion euros during 2015, by essentially sending people to death. It would be enough for the Turkish police, who are perfectly equipped, to really intervene – to catch people you can see in internet videos, on cameras, in Izmir or in Bodrum.
Alan: It’s really that simple?
Pierini: It’s not necessarily that simple, but it’s something that hasn’t really been addressed. The new influx of refugees was predictable. And now we’re in a double paradox situation. Turkey says ‘we don’t let them enter for the moment – but we will do so, when it’s necessary.’ And the second paradox: the EU says ‘you have to let them enter – but you have to keep them.’
Alan: Is there a lack of trust between the two parties? Why is there this blockage?
Pierini: The problem, as you say, is the lack of trust. The only English speaking newspaper in Turkey has spoken of ‘the perversity of the European Union’… That’s not really a climate of cooperation. That’s a climate of distrust. It’s the same thing on the European side.
Alan: But Turkey already hosts almost three million refugees.
Pierini: Less the million that has left for Europe. The figures keep changing, but Turkey hosts many refugees, the country has been very generous. The 15 percent of those refugees who are in camps are very well treated – the others try to eke out a living on their own savings. But Europe will have to talk with Turkey on the police-aspect of the problem. It’s just not acceptable that Turkish and European tax-payers spend billions on helping those poor refugees – a good thing in itself – but while well-known human traffickers are cashing in billions too.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
EU member states clash over how to boost the union’s competitiveness: Some want to favor European industries in public procurement, while others worry this could deter foreign investment. So, can the EU simultaneously attract global capital and reduce dependencies?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
Europe’s policy of subservience to the Trump administration has failed. For Washington to take the EU seriously, its leaders now need to combine engagement with robust pushback.
Stefan Lehne
Leaning into a multispeed Europe that includes the UK is the way Europeans don’t get relegated to suffering what they must, while the mighty United States and China do what they want.
Rym Momtaz
A prophetic Romanian novel about a town at the mouth of the Danube carries a warning: Europe decays when it stops looking outward. In a world of increasing insularity, the EU should heed its warning.
Thomas de Waal
Local political and social dynamics will shape the implementation of any peace settlement following Russia’s war against Ukraine—dynamics that adversaries may seek to exploit.
Daryna Dvornichenko, Holger Nehring