Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Source: AP Photo
TASS reports (source):
Turkey will not stop Syrian refugees seeking entry to the EU until Brussels takes concrete steps towards integration of Turkey into the Union, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said before the parliament on Wednesday, according to NTV channel.
“We will continue with our current policy, until there are concrete steps on visa-free regime, until new points of negotiations [on European integration] are open, until the agreement on Customs Union is updated. The flows of illegal migrants will fill the Mediterranean,” he vowed.
Erdogan added that he expects the EU to “fulfill promises made earlier and stick to terms of agreements,” and underscored that “the Europeans will have to think now.”
According to the Turkish leader, “there is no visible determination to overcome the [migrant] crisis” and tensions with Ankara. He recalled that in 2016, Turkey and the EU signed a deal on migrants, under which Turkey agreed to accommodate Syrian migrants, in exchange for Brussels’ funding for their accommodation and the visa-free regime.
“We have done more than we had to. For nine years we used to provide the refugees with food, water, and clothes. The flow of migrants in the Aegean Sea reduced from 7,000 people per day to 70, EU border crossings shrank by 92% However, the EU failed to fulfill its promises, either not providing the funding at all, or providing it indirectly and ineffectively,” Erdogan went on.
This is why Ankara recently decided not to prevent the refugees from entering Europe, he specified, adding that more than 157,000 Syrians already crossed the border heading for Greece.
At the peak of the 2016 migrant crisis, Brussels and Ankara reached an agreement, under which Turkey undertook to close its EU border for migrants, and the Union was to pay 6 billion euros in return. The EU also promised visa-free regime to Ankara, but failed to keep its promise, demanding that Turkey first reviewed its anti-terrorism legislation. Currently, 3.5 million migrants seeking entry to the EU have been staying in Turkey.
Doogie Says – Either money & Military aid or prepared to get blackmailed the shit out.
Doogie can go fuck himself. No Turkey into the EU, not back then in the 16th and 17th century, not today, not ever!
The EU will never accept Turkey, Russia, Ukraine or Bielorrusia. Its a Catholic/Protestant cartel with the Greek Orthodox, et al, as honorary second class citizens. Furthermore, the EU are vassals of the US/Anglo/Zionist hegemon. The name of the game is Eurasian Integration.
“The Europeans will have to think now”, if that does not wake Germany, and the other tribes up, nothing will.
Europe ain’t scared of your ‘refugee’ (illegal migrant) invaders anymore fuck-face. Contrary to the usual Turkish propaganda, Greece has proven strong border control CAN stop them.
I had thought Erdogan had already given up on EU integration anyway, if he still thinks he has a chance it just proves how delusional he really is.
The Greeks seem to have a better organised border than Turkey who seem to think they can just create a corridor for terrorists to escape from Syria. The ‘moderate’ terrorists will be kept by the Turkish admin for further work destabilising neighbouring countries whilst the fanatics are shipped off to europe.
Yes, Erdo has gone completely mad :)
nearly none of these “refugees” r Syrian…Erdogan’s blackmail attempt will fail; he is not trusted by anyone. apparently his approval among turks is declining
It’s just as well that Erdogan has purged the armed forces, purged the legal system, closed down social media and controls the Turkish MSM, otherwise he could face some home grown resistance.
The EU and nato must have allocated enough funds to help with the refugees they were causing. The Turkish admin probably preferred to spend the money they were given creating field hospitals, supply depots, and other logistics for ISIS, Al Queada, [insert 5-eyes title here], terrorists, mercenaries, with which to chop up Syria.
EU has to gather the millions Turks from allover Europe and sent them back to Erdogan.
NATO has set up a trap for Erdogan downfall in his arogants and stupidity. NATO will give all terrorists to Erdogan and heavily arm SDF.Turkey economy will fall and Putin will close its border for trade and coronavirus threat.