Brussels, 09/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - Just as they did at the time of the announcement of the agreement between the EU and Turkey on the quasi systematic repatriation to Turkey of migrants illegally arriving in the EU, MEPs once again expressed their dissatisfaction and concerns at the end of the European Summit on 7 March.
During a debate organised on Wednesday 9 March in Strasbourg regarding the results from this meeting and the future European Summit on 17-18 March ahead, in theory, of ratifying this agreement, the leaders from the main political groups at the EP criticised the concessions made to Turkey relating to EU accession and visa liberalisation. They criticised cooperation with a country that is jeopardising freedom of the press and also and, perhaps, above all, a majority of them (with the exception of the EPP group) denounced the EU's moral bankruptcy at having agreed to send all the migrants that have illegally arrived in the EU back to Turkey and who could be, however, be eligible for claiming international protection in Europe.
Manfred Weber, the head of the EPP group, said that the Summit on 7 March gives reason to believe that “for the first time, a global solution appears within reach” and even a “sustainable solution” by breaking the economic model favoured by the traffickers. Nonetheless, this German MEP did warn against the EU being dependent on Turkey and explained “We should not be depending on Turkey, we require a genuine partnership… There are, however, concerns… Turkey has to respect standards; we can't give the country a blank cheque… We should not mix up the different dossiers: accession, which is something completely different and our group has many concerns in this connection”.
Gianni Pittella, head of the S&D, said that the agreement with Turkey is “necessary but it should be done without there being any ambiguity”. The Italian MEP emphasised that “people are not merchandise; there should not be any cattle trading done on the backs of refugees”. The head of the S&D group at the EP also said that the freedom of the press was non-negotiable, adding that he had to admit that the EU should not be losing its moral strength although it was actually doing so.
The leader of the ECR group, Syed Kamall, was also very critical and pointed out that it is the traffickers who are the EU's enemies and not the migrants. This British MEP had reservations about this matter, particularly the process and the fact that one or two “leaders have negotiated without consulting the others”. He also said that he was very concerned by the fact that the EU may substitute the current pressure being exerted by other pressures, particularly by speeding up the granting of the visa waiver regime to Turkish citizens. The leader of the ECR group said that they should be worried by the action taken by Turkey against the media.
Guy Verhofstadt, the head of the ALDE group at the EP, said that the EU should not be relocating its problem to Turkey or giving the EU's keys to “Sultan Erdogan”. He emphasised that Turkey had not ratified all the different sections of the Geneva Convention on Refugees and it was Turkey that had to decide on behalf of the EU whether a refugee was a refugee or not, which he found astonishing.
According to Gabi Zimmer, the president of the GUE/NGL group, the EU had a “lamentable image” and the agreement being prepared quite simply breached “international and humanitarian standards”. (Solenn Paulic)