The EU-Turkey refugee agreement has been in force for two years. It was signed on 18 March 2016 to solve one of Europe`s most pressing problems: the massive influx of refugees. Thursday`s step threatens to unravel an agreement Turkey signed with the European Union in 2016 to halt the arrival in the bloc in exchange for funds allocated, among other things, to manage the millions of refugees it hosts. The AGREEMENT BETWEEN the EU and Turkey has eroded the rights of refugees and migrants in the Greek islands, prolonged their legal, physical and psychological uncertainty and took advantage of their suffering to deter others from crossing. Following the opening of the Turkish side of the border, which took place hours after dozens of Turkish soldiers were killed in Syrian government airstrikes, dramatic images of refugees trying to enter neighbouring Greece by sea and land – an EU member – have been widely circulated. “It is clear that Merkel`s main statement in Ankara was the prospect of continuing to provide Turkey with massive financial support for refugees,” said Gerard Knaus, considered one of the main architects of the agreement. “If financial aid cannot be guaranteed, the agreement is threatened,” says the migration researcher. The EU allocates billions more euros to help refugees in Turkey. But what will this money be used for? Nas says Turkish city councillors must also submit project applications to avoid delays such as those caused by the first aid tranche and to ensure that the funds made available by the EU are more transparent. Nas explains that while the first half of aid is aimed at meeting the immediate needs of refugees, the second half should be devoted to cultural integration, language learning, vocational training and employment. Turkey announced last week that it would not block the crossing of refugees seeking to travel to Europe, in the face of escalating violence in northwestern Syria and the risk of a new influx of hundreds of thousands of people from the war-torn country across the southern border.
In December 2013, following the signing of a readmission agreement, the EU began a dialogue with Turkey on visa liberalisation, which should include a “roadmap for visa-free travel”. [64] After the 2015 G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, in November 2015, Turkey`s EU accession negotiations took a new initiative, including the goal of lifting the visa requirement for Turkish citizens. [65] The EU welcomed Turkey`s commitment to accelerate the implementation of the benchmarks of the visa roadmap set by participating EU Member States. [66] A joint action plan has been drawn up with the European Commission, which has developed a roadmap with certain benchmarks for the abolition of the visa requirement. [67] The agreement called for the abolition of visas for Turkish citizens within one year if certain conditions are met. [68] The 2016 migration agreement went well long before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to open borders for many years. Representatives of the Turkish governments had partly expressed their displeasure at the EU`s failure to comply with three provisions of the agreement: the liberalisation of the visa regime, the modernisation of the customs union and the acceleration of negotiations on Turkey`s accession to the EU. They also call for increased support for Ankara`s projects in Idlib, including air cover for the establishment of a “safe zone” and increased humanitarian assistance to displaced civilians in Syria, as well as increased financial assistance to Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The agreement also included promises to ease visa restrictions for Turkish citizens, revive Ankara`s EU accession negotiations and strengthen the customs union between the two sides. The Turkish government has argued that Brussels has not complied with the agreement on these issues, even though it has fully implemented itself.
