Brussels, 28/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - During a plenary session debate in Brussels on Thursday 28 April (see EUROPE 11515), the European Parliament again reiterated its red lines on the EU-Turkey agreement of 18 March to address the migration crisis.
MEPs call on the European leaders not to sell off basic European Union values because of cooperation with Turkey to reduce migrant flows, nor to lower the standards required for Ankara to be able to benefit from a visa waiver regime (see EUROPE 11541).
Manfred Weber (EPP, Germany) said that his group agreed with visa liberalisation for Turkish nationals but that the matter must be linked to the new smart borders project on travellers' entry and exit (see EUROPE 11526). The safeguard clause for visas must also be emphasised, he said - a clause that was created in 2013 to fight abuses but which has never been used. Gianni Pittella (S&D, Italy) said that there should be no giving in to bargaining on human rights or media freedom in Turkey. Peter van Dalen (ECR, Netherlands) said that the EU-Turkey agreement was “dangerous” for refugees, and he was equally unenthusiastic about the visa question and Turkey's EU membership. The Greens/EFA Group and the GUE/NGL reiterated their concerns about the very existence of the agreement. The ALDE Group, meanwhile, is not against the visa waiver system being granted to Turkey but would like the whole EU-Turkey agreement to be legally solid and accompanied by a comprehensive package on border management, legal migration and reform of the Dublin system covering asylum rules in the European Union (see EUROPE 11526).
On behalf of the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU, the Dutch minister for migration, Klaas Dijkhoff, and European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans spoke in favour of the EU-Turkey agreement as the only solution for the migration crisis, saying it was beginning to bear fruit. According to Dijkhoff, since the agreement has been implemented there are no longer people dying in the Aegean Sea. “It's not the perfect solution, but it's something”, he said, admitting that there were still numerous challenges for the member states - from implementing the decisions on relocating refugees from Greece and Italy to creating the future European Coastguard Agency (see EUROPE 11526).
According to Timmermans, “the agreement with Turkey is the only solution”. He praised Greece for its efforts at making the agreement work, and Turkey for dealing with nearly “3 million refugees” and “managing quite well at it”. Timmermans also told MEPs that this agreement was legally irreproachable, along with all its possible safeguards. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)