Erdogan blackmails Europe and depletes it financially with the refugee deal

Ahmed Samy Abdel Fattah

The European Commission announced on Thursday, October 31 that it will send a new batch of funds estimated at €663 million to Turkey in accordance with the refugee deal signed between the two parties in 2016. These funds are to be used to support the health and educational status of refugees.

Turkish blackmail

Turkey hosts some 6.3 million Syrians, according to government statistics. From time to time, Ankara hints at unlawfully releasing them to Europe, prompting the old continent to negotiate with Turkey in 2016 in order to restrict the movement of illegal refugees across the Aegean Sea.

The EU pledged to pay €6 billion to Turkey as part of an agreement between the two parties, provided that Turkey restricts illegal immigration in return for granting Turks the privilege to enter Europe without a visa, which has not been achieved so far, as the two parties exchange accusations of violating the terms of the agreement. While Turkey says it has not received the required financial support, Europe says it pays the money but Turkey must meet its other obligations in the agreement.

On the other hand, this payment comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to open Turkey’s borders to Europe. Meanwhile, Europe has described the Turkish military operation in Syria as an aggression or invasion, according to the European Commission, before German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas visited Ankara in order to calm relations and remove the tensions.

In this context, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on the European Union to increase financial support to Turkey for the refugee crisis, in an attempt to persuade Ankara to maintain the agreement until the end of the war in Syria, according to Reuters. He said that Turkey has an obligation to maintain the agreement, while the EU must recognize that Turkey is receiving millions of immigrants and should provide additional financial support for the coming years. He stressed that it is in no one’s interest, including Turkey, to have a difficult relationship with the EU, adding that Europe can certainly work towards improving the relationship but Turkey must play its part.

On the other hand, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that the number of refugees arriving to Turkey by sea from Greece rose to 10,258 in September 2019.

According to the agreement signed between Turkey and Greece, refugees entering Greece illegally as of March 20, 2016 must be returned to Turkey again, which explains why Greece has asked Europe to increase financial support for Turkey to support refugees. This is the highest monthly incoming since 2016, when the EU and Turkey signed the agreement to curb refugee arrivals. The 2016 agreement, which has been criticized by asylum-seeking NGOs, has succeeded in curbing the flow of migrants to Europe.