Brussels, 01/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 30 November, members of the European Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee expressed serious misgivings about the agreement between the European Union and Turkey for an action plan to reduce migratory flows to the EU (see EUROPE 11441).
During a debate, many MEPs expressed serious concerns about questions related to the freedom of the press, assassinations of human rights representatives and repression of the Kurdish minority, which were evaded during the bilateral summit on Sunday 29 November.
Overall, MEPs expressed serious doubts about Turkey's ability to reduce migratory flows, as well as readmit people who had illegally entered the EU via Turkey. According to a report by Reuters, on Monday, in an effort to prove their determination to respect the agreement with the Europeans, the Turkish authorities announced that they had apprehended a number of people traffickers and 1,300 Syrian, Iraqi, Afghani and Iranians migrants, who were preparing to cross the Aegean Sea, to get into Greece
Many MEPs have doubts about Turkey's sincerity with regard to implementing the action agreed upon. Gérard Deprez (ALDE, Belgium) even mentioned the lack of “trust” he had in the Turkish government and asserted, “the Turks are not being honest with us about the figures” and added that, “they're not going to stop the refugees”. Addressing European Commission representatives, the MEP said that, “I hope you know what you're doing, with the new door that has been provided with liberalisation on visas”.
Other MEPs asked how the assistance of €3 billion promised by the EU to facilitate the reception and settlement of Syrian refugees in Turkey was going to be controlled. Anna Gomes (S & D, Portugal) asked how they were going to ensure that this €3 billion would not “be used to channel oil from Syria to Turkey?” Other MEPs asked why the EU was not offering its aid to Lebanon, Jordan or Iraq, where the situation of the refugees is “more dramatic”.
The Commission provided them with assurances that there would be “very precise control of these funds”, according to Matthias Ruete, the director-general for home affairs at the European Commission. He also explained that the Commission was working “in a spirit of trust” with Turkey. Returning to the subject of the readmission agreement with Turkey, of illegal migrants living in the EU he said, “This is a major subject to discuss”. He added that discussions on the subject would take place in January and that “currently, this agreement only covers Turkish nationals but it also needs to cover nationals from third countries”. He explained that with regard to the question of visa liberalisation for Turkish nationals, “we can shift towards liberalisation (planned for October 2016, Ed) but we need to be convinced that the readmission agreement is fully operational”.
On the question of relaunching Turkey's accession process with the EU, Ruete said that the opening of discussions in spring on chapters “23 and 24” (legal apparatus and fundamental rights) would provide an opportunity to make progress on the question of human rights. In a press release, the French MEPs in the EPP group said that Turkey would never be able to become a member of the EU, only an associate member.
Manfred Weber, from Germany, the head of the EPP group said “This agreement is not a blank cheque. It contains a number of pills that are difficult to swallow”. He also affirmed that “before we, at the European Parliament, examine specific subjects, Turkey must prove that it is prepared to cooperate. This means decisive measures against traffickers and a significant reduction in the number of migrants flooding into Europe from Turkey”. (Solenn Paulic)