Monday

25th Sep 2023

Erdogan: refugees will enter Europe unless EU does more

Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has once again used the millions of refugees hosted in the country as a bargaining chip against the European Union.

Speaking alongside Hungary's prime minister Viktor Orban on Thursday (7 November), he told reporters the refugees will be allowed into Europe unless the EU provides more support.

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

"Whether we receive support or not, we will continue to aid the guests we are hosting. But, if this doesn't work out, then we will have to open the doors," he said.

Erdogan has in the past made similar statements, often seen as a means to squeeze leverage over an European Union that is intent to maintain a 2016 deal with Ankara to prevent people from landing on the Greek islands.

"In 13 minutes you can get across the stretch of sea between the Turkish coast and the islands on an inflatable boat," said Michalis Chrisochoidis, Greece's minister for citizens' protection, earlier this week.

He said Turkey has an obligation to control the border to Europe and accept returns from the Greek islands.

The latest stand-off comes on the heels of Turkey's 9 October invasion into north-east Syria, which has since displaced some 180,000 people in a stated aim to create a so-called "safe zone".

Turkey wants to send Syrian refugees back into that zone amid evidence collected by Human Rights Watch, which says some are being forced against their will.

Relations between the EU and Turkey remain fraught following the de facto freezing of accession talks in June 2018.

"In the last couple of months, we saw a significant increase in irregular migration to the EU from Turkey. This time it is mainly Iranians, Afghanis, Pakistanis," Maciej Popowski, a senior European Commission official, told MEPs earlier this week.

European commissioner for migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, also last month in Ankara met Erdogan to discuss how to deal with these three nations' citizens, and ended up pledging an additional €50m to help the Turkish coast guard search and rescue.

The money comes on top of some €6bn of EU funds geared towards helping the 3.6 million Syrian refugees hosted by Turkey with projects running until the end of 2023.

Some 97 percent of the €6bn has already been programmed, says the commission.

Although some is given as direct grants to the Turkish ministries of education, health, and family and social affairs, the bulk is channelled through large international aid agencies.

The commission also says that none of it can be used outside Turkey, meaning at no point will it help fund the repatriation or the reintegration of Syrian refugees in the north east of Syria.

"We are not going to support resettlements of forced evictions into north Syria or deportations whether it is from Turkey or Lebanon or any other country," said Popowski.

Similar comments were made by Michael Koehler, another senior EU commission official.

"If ever there was a political decision to support the resettlement of Syrian refugees into Syria, the facility [€6bn] would not be the funding source because legally this is not allowed," he said.

That political decision will weigh heavily on the United Nations whose secretary-general met with Erdogan in early November to discuss Turkey's plan to resettle hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees across the border.

The UN says any resettlement must by voluntary, safe and dignified.

Greek migrant hotspot now EU's 'worst rights issue'

The 14,000 migrants trapped on the Greek island of Lesbos has been described as "the single most worrying fundamental rights issue that we are confronting anywhere in the European Union" by the head of the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency.

Opinion

'Repatriation' of Syrians in Turkey needs EU action

We interviewed 18 Syrian refugees in Turkey by phone. They all said Turkish authorities had arbitrarily detained them in immigration removal centres and forced them to sign forms they were not allowed to read but believed were voluntary repatriation forms.

Analysis

What does Erdoğan want?

By opening Turkey's border, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wants to push Europe into supporting him in Ankara's negotiations with Russia's Vladimir Putin for a deal on Syria's Idlib.

Erdogan warns Europe of new migration crisis

Turkey's president Erdogan said more violence in the north-western Syrian province of Idlib would trigger a new migration crisis "felt by all European countries."

Macron spars with US and Turkey over Nato

French president Emmanuel Macron clashed with US president Donald Trump and Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan over Nato, as the future of the alliance begins to fray following Ankara's invasion into north-east Syria in October.

Latest News

  1. EU likely to agree on weakened emission rules
  2. China trade tension and migration deal This WEEK
  3. Europe's energy strategy: A tale of competing priorities
  4. Why Greek state workers are protesting new labour law
  5. Gloves off, as Polish ruling party fights for power
  6. Here's the headline of every op-ed imploring something to stop
  7. Report: Tax richest 0.5%, raise €213bn for EU coffers
  8. EU aid for Africa risks violating spending rules, Oxfam says

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  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

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us