EU and Turkey seal migrant deal, declare ‘new beginning’

Europe, News November 30, 2015 , by IRIA 1 Comment

BRUSSELS – The European Union and Turkey agreed on a deal to stem the migrant crisis, including a three-billion-euro ($3.2-billion) aid package for Syrian refugees in Turkey, EU president Donald Tusk said after a summit in Brussels on Sunday.

Turkey promised to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for cash, visas and renewed talks on joining the EU in a deal struck on Sunday.

EU leaders hailed the agreement as a key step toward substantially reducing the number of asylum seekers entering the bloc, while Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Sunday’s summit marked a historic new beginning in the often fraught relations between Brussels and Ankara.

A key element is 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) in EU aid for the 2.2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, intended to raise living standards and so persuade more to stay put rather than attempt the perilous crossing to the Greek islands and the EU.

“Our agreement sets out a clear plan for the timely re-establishment of order at our shared frontier. We will also step up our assistance to Syrian refugees in Turkey through a new refugee facility of three billion euros,” Tusk told a press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

A spokesman for summit chairman Donald Tusk, the European Council president, said a joint statement had been agreed.

“Our agreement sets out a clear plan for the timely re-establishment of order at our shared frontier,” said Tusk, adding that they expected a major step towards changing the rules of the game when it came to stemming the migration flow coming to the EU via Turkey.

“We will also step up our assistance to Syrian refugees in Turkey through a new Refugee Facility of 3billion euros,” Tusk said, to which Davutoğlu said that the money was going to be spent on Syrian migrants and not on Turkey.

Key points of the deal:

EU will offer immediate and continuous humanitarian assistance to Turkey and committed to provide “an initial” 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) for Turkey to improve conditions for the 2.2 million or so Syrian refugees in the country. A key element is to provide Arabic-speaking schools and other services to encourage refugees not to head to Europe.
EU foreign ministers will formally approve at their next meeting on Dec. 14 the opening of Chapter 17 of EU accession talks with Turkey. In other words, negotiations will formally start on bringing Turkey’s economic and financial policies and standards into line with the EU — one of 35 chapters states must complete before being allowed to join the European Union.
Sunday’s accord pledges to accelerate new visa terms so that they can be active by October 2016 if Turkey meets set benchmarks. EU officials expect only a small number of the 78 million Turks to benefit at first from visa-free travel, most likely those given new-style, electronically readable passports. Groups to benefit would probably include business travelers and possibly students.