Thursday

28th Sep 2023

Opinion

The EU-Turkey migration deal is dead on arrival at this summit

Listen to article

On Thursday (23 March) and Friday, the leaders of EU member states will get together in Brussels to discuss the future of EU migration policy. We already know what they will agree on: more border control (e.g. more guards, security infrastructure, surveillance and equipment at the borders), and more agreements with third states.

Last week also marked the seventh anniversary of the EU-Turkey Statement, first agreed in 2016. The agreement is still proclaimed by some to be the model for future migration deals. They are either ill-informed, in denial or worse, considering that the EU-Turkey Statement has been dead in the water since at least 2020.

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 EU-Turkey Statement was always built on flimsy premises. At the heart of the agreement is the idea that Turkey will keep asylum seekers from reaching the EU or, if they do, the EU can send asylum seekers arriving irregularly back to Turkey.

For the deal to stand, the EU must assume that Turkey is a safe country for asylum seekers. However, there is ample evidence that Turkey, like other states that the EU wants to make agreements with, cannot be considered safe.

A state can only be deemed legally safe if it grants the person access to a fair and efficient asylum procedure, and if it treats the person in accordance with the 1951 Refugee Convention.

In its 2022 report on Turkey, the European Commission itself casts serious doubt on whether the country can be considered safe. Turkey does not even consider itself fully bound by the 1951 Refugee Convention, as it still upholds territorial limitations.

Moreover, Turkey has not ratified different core human rights treaties; on the contrary, it recently pulled back from the Istanbul Protocol. Finally, the country has been widely criticised for a growing disregard for human rights standards in the wake of the 2016 attempted coup, one that also affects migrant communities.

Crucially, between 2016 and 2020, only about 2,000 people were returned from the five Greek eastern Aegean islands under the EU-Turkey Statement.

Pushbacks instead

Since early 2020, readmissions have been suspended completely, which means that no asylum seekers have been returned through legitimate channels. None. Those who have been sent back to Turkey were illegally pushed back, as widely reported and recognised by courts, international and national organisations, non-governmental organisations and international and national journalists.

The Turkish unwillingness seems to stem from (geo)political concerns that are unrelated to refugee protection. It not only makes clear that Turkey is no safe country, but also that the EU's externalisation strategy is fundamentally flawed. The EU relies on the cooperation of countries that simply cannot be relied on.

Member states and European institutions are aware and have publicly recognised that the EU-Turkey Statement has been moot since 2020.

Nevertheless, no one is willing to change course. The effects of this malfunction, which we see every day on Lesvos, are devastating.

Because Greece does not publicly acknowledge that the deal is dead and buried, it refuses to examine the asylum applications of many asylum seekers that should, in principle, be returned to Turkey under the EU-Turkey Statement.

In most cases, the consequence is that asylum seekers end up in a legal limbo. Although it is obvious that Turkey will not admit these asylum seekers, their applications are still considered inadmissible. This leaves them stuck in detention-like camps or in a homeless situation, without any prospects and often devoid of access to services.

If the EU wants to design sustainable migration and asylum strategies and uphold human rights standards, it cannot count on third states as managers ad interim. A complete failure of the EU-Turkey Statement, like the failure of similar agreements, shows that other strategies need to be explored.

The past year has proven that there are alternatives: since the war in Ukraine started, approximately 8.1 million forcibly-displaced persons have been registered in the EU for temporary protection. This shows that the absence of a sustainable solution for asylum seekers is not due to a lack of capacity, but because the EU lacks political will, often driven by xenophobia and nationalist political interests.

Why can the effort for Ukrainians not be our guideline for other asylum seekers? The EU has proven that it is both able to establish safe passage and share responsibilities within the Union. In addition, it should invest in foreign development, without forcing states to act as our border guards before they get access to funds. Plenty to talk about, it seems, tonight in Brussels.

Author bio

Fenix is an NGO providing legal aid, protection case management, mental and psychosocial support to asylum-seekers, advocacy, and capacity building, on the Greek islands.

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author's, not those of EUobserver.

Eight EU states press for more Turkey-style migrant swap deals

A joint letter from Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia seeks to create more Turkey-like migrant swap deals. But a pending Greek case at the European Court of Justice may complicate those plans.

Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling

Vasco Alves Cordeiro, president of the European Committee of the Regions, is advocating a revamp of the EU's regional policy so that it better supports all regions in addressing major challenges such as the green and digital transitions.

How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?

The EU Commission's new magic formula for avoiding scrutiny is simple. You declare the documents in question to be "short-lived correspondence for a preliminary exchange of views" and thus exempt them from being logged in the official inventory.

Column

Will Poles vote for the end of democracy?

International media must make clear that these are not fair, democratic elections. The flawed race should be the story at least as much as the race itself.

Latest News

  1. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  2. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  3. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border
  4. EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making
  5. How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?
  6. Resurgent Fico hopes for Slovak comeback at Saturday's election
  7. EU and US urge Azerbijan to allow aid access to Armenians
  8. EU warns of Russian 'mass manipulation' as elections loom

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