European funds pour into Erdogan’s coffers

Mostafa Kamel and Moaaz Mohamed

There are a number of possible scenarios for the future of the crisis in Idlib, northern Syria, and the future of refugees on the Turkish-Greek border after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Brussels with President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on March 9.

The EU Commission has reiterated its commitment to an agreement on refuges signed with Turkey in 2016. The EU Commission’s commitment to the agreement may urge Erdogan to receive the refugees again as he get more funds from the EU.

According to the agreement, Turkey should work on prevention of flow of refugees to Europe via Greece for 6 billion euros.

Turkey used the refugees to pressure the EU to support its military operations in Idlib and northern Syria in general. In this regard, Erdogan may hit two birds with one stone: gets funds from the EU for keeping the refugees in his country, and continues his aggression on Idlib.

James Jeffrey, U.S. Special Representative for Syria Engagement, said that Russia and the Syrian regime have any interest in a permanent ceasefire in Idlib as they are out to get a military victory in all of Syria.

As for Turkey, Jeffrey said that “everything is on the table.  We’ll see what happens next, what our allies are willing to put on the table, and then we’ll see what the United States can do to support them”.

In the same vein, Erdogan said on March 10 that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron will visit his country on March 17 to discuss the migration crisis. Erdogan noted that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson might attend the summit in Turkey.

Apparently, Erdogan wants to continue the agreement with the EU. That would be the main focus of the planned meeting on March 17. Moreover, the EU leaders are scheduled to hold a summit on March 26.