The Paradox of the EU-Turkey Refugee Deal
The humanitarian situation on the ground in Greece has grown increasingly dire amid overwhelming flows of smuggled migrants and asylum seekers—largely Syrian—arriving from Turkey via the Aegean Sea. With growing domestic concerns about unchecked arrivals into the European Union and the uptick that warmer weather could bring, EU and Turkish policymakers have been under pressure to cooperate on a solution to the crisis.
Last week, the European Union and Turkey reached an agreement to address the flows, which allows Greece to return to Turkey “all new irregular migrants” arriving after March 20, in exchange for stepped-up EU financial support for Turkey’s refugee population and increased resettlement by Member States, among other things. However, many observers are concerned that the deal will undermine the European Union’s long-standing commitments on human rights standards—including refugee protection—and might not ultimately succeed in addressing the problem long-term.
In a new commentary, MPI Europe Director Elizabeth Collett reacts to the deal, pointing out how it creates a paradox for a European Union that has spent decades preaching its own asylum standards to neighboring countries. “To achieve its self-imposed goal—a significant reduction in arrivals and an increase in returns to Turkey—policymakers will have to drastically cut legal corners, potentially violating EU law on issues such as detention and the right to appeal,” she writes. As a result, “governments are taking a bet that the ‘messaging’ of the EU-Turkey agreement, rather than its implementation, will suffice to deter arrivals without having to test its legality or viability in practice.”
The commentary explores the complex legal and logistical implications of the deal, arguing that it is short-sighted in its goals and will likely only result in displacing the problem elsewhere while also sending a message to host countries in the region that when governments are faced with domestic unpopularity, the obligation to protect becomes secondary.
KJ