Tuesday

5th Dec 2023

Turkey says eight IS suspects posed as refugees

  • Turkey is hosting over 2 million refugees (Photo: svenwerk)

Turkey has detained eight suspected Islamic State fighters it says posed as refugees, amid broader moves by the EU to get Ankara to contain Syrian asylum seekers.

None of the Paris attackers were refugees and the eight Moroccans detained in Turkey say it is a case of mistaken identity.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

The International Organisation for Migration and the UNHCR also report that, to date, there has not been a single proven case of terrorists infiltrating migrant flows to Europe

But the announcement from Ankara is likely to stoke fears among some member states, which oppose EU asylum relocation plans.

The Islamic State itself is also said to want Western leaders to link terrorism with refugees to stem the flow to the EU because the Syrian exodus is seen as undermining its so-called caliphate.

Both Hungary and Slovakia are now seeking to challenge the EU relocation plan at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International, in a report out earlier this week, described cases of people fleeing war being turned around in Greece and Bulgaria and sent back into Turkey in contravention to EU and international laws.

The human rights organisation also said Turkey is “detaining intercepted migrants and asylum-seekers without access to lawyers and forcibly returning refugees to Syria and Iraq, in clear violation of international law”.

But the EU, for its part, is pushing ahead with plans to finalise a migrant deal with Turkey in exchange for money, visa liberalisation, and accelerated talks on EU membership.

The EU agreed early October to an EU-Turkey joint action plan but still needs to shore up some €3 billion.

In an interview with Reuters, EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said the EU wants “a fresh start in our relationship with Turkey."

Hahn was speaking of an upcoming EU-Turkey summit. The plan is to give Turkey €3 billion to contain the some 2.2 million Syrian refugees it hosts.

"Such a summit is a good opportunity to announce a deal. I still expect this before Christmas," he said.

In related developments, Greece and Turkey on Wednesday announced they would set up new posts in their respective embassies to host coast guard attaches.

Some 690,000 people have entered Greece to seek international protection since the start of the year.

The vast majority take a boat from Turkey to reach the nearby Greek islands in the Aegean sea.

Turkey’s prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking alongside his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras, said any solution to the refugee crisis must be found in Syria.

Davutoglu also noted that greater efforts would be made to reunify Cyprus.

The island-nation has been split in two since Turkey’s 1974 invasion.

“There is a window of opportunity right now over the Cyprus issue. The negotiations are going on. We have a common approach with Greece to contribute positively to the talks,” said Davutoglu.

Opinion

EU needs US-type refugee screening

The US system for security screening of migrants is said to be too tough. But unless the EU system gets tougher, it will only feed populist fears.

Brussels denies having no 'concern' on Spain's amnesty law

The Spanish government remains secretive about its negotiations with pro-independence Catalans, but claims the EU Commission has "zero concerns" about their proposed amnesty law for Catalan separatists. The EU executive denies that.

Opinion

The EU's U-turn on caged farm animals — explained

A European citizens' initiative — signed by 1.4 million people — saw the EU Commission promise to ban cages for 300 million farmed animals. Then the farming lobby got involved.

Opinion

'Pay or okay?' — Facebook & Instagram vs the EU

Since last week, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta corporation is forcing its European users to either accept their intrusive privacy practices — or pay €156 per year to access Facebook and Instagram without tracking advertising.

Latest News

  1. Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
  2. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  3. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion
  4. Optimising Alzheimer's disease health care pathways across Europe
  5. Georgian far-right leader laughs off potential EU sanctions
  6. The EU's U-turn on caged farm animals — explained
  7. EU-China summit and migration files in focus This WEEK
  8. COP28 debates climate finance amid inflated accounting 'mess'

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us