Today’s Zaman
Abdullah Bozkurt
31 May 2010
The European Union and Turkey remain at odds on a few remaining contentious issues concerning a readmission agreement to tackle the flow of illegal immigration to Europe, though both sides have appeared to move forward on the deal by agreeing on most articles, Today’s Zaman has learned.
According to a diplomat close to the negotiations on the readmission agreement whereby illegal immigrants, who reach Europe via Turkey and are caught in European Union member states, will be repatriated to their home countries after temporarily staying in Turkey, both sides have brokered a deal on 19 articles but agreement on the remaining five does not seem to be moving any closer. Because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, the diplomat wished to remain anonymous.
The disagreement on the negotiations focuses on sharing the financial burden which stems from screening, hosting and eventually repatriating illegal immigrants, as well as on Ankara’s insistence on placing a so-called “Turkey clause” in EU agreements with third countries like Iran, Iraq and Pakistan. Without having EU agreements on countries of origin, Turkey fears it will be left alone in dealing with the massive cost of hosting and repatriating immigrants and is asking for inclusion in third party negotiations.
Trading blame
The EU alleges that Turkey is not doing enough to tackle illegal immigration coming from the East, especially from Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East, claiming the country has failed to fulfill its promises to repatriate illegal immigrants who pass through Turkey and are later detained in EU member states.
Turkey, on the other hand, claims that the EU is shying away from sharing the financial burden with Turkey and is not doing enough to coordinate immigration and resettlement policies with Ankara. It is estimated that every year almost 72,000 illegal immigrants go to Europe via Turkey, although Turkey apprehended approximately 65,000 illegal immigrants in 2008.
Ankara insists that the readmission agreement should entail strong funding from the EU, mirroring similar funding that is available to member states under the “resettlement policies” within the European Refugee Fund (ERF), which was established to support and improve the efforts of member states to grant refugee or asylum status to beneficiaries.
The government also fears that, without a strong and clear readmission agreement in place, vetting thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers in reception centers while awaiting deportation will open a Pandora’s box for Turkey in the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). Turkey ranks second after Russia in terms of the number of cases ending up in the ECtHR and is trying to reduce them by introducing constitutional changes on fundamental rights, due to be submitted to a referendum on Sept. 12.
In April, for example, the ECtHR decided in three out of four cases involving refugees recognized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that Turkey would violate Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) if the expulsion orders were enforced. The court also criticized the unlawfulness and the conditions of their detention in a police station and in some of the detention centers where they had been held awaiting deportation.
Visa waivers in exchange for deal
Even though both sides may agree on sharing the financial costs and come up with a consultation mechanism over third country negotiations on similar matters, the visa-free travel of Turkish citizens in EU territory will remain the major stumbling block to the agreement. Though the EU offered a visa facilitation agreement to sweeten the deal, Ankara brushed the offer aside and made it clear that Turkey wants free movement of Turks.
Turkey’s chief EU negotiator, State Minister Egemen Bağış, reaffirmed the message on Sunday in Hanover. “They are talking about easing visa application procedures. We are not interested in that. We want what is rightfully deserved for our citizens: Free movement,” he told a group of Turks.
“I guess it will all boil down to the visa waiver agreement Turkey is seeking in the end,” the diplomat said. The EU Commission contends that it lacks the mandate to seek visa-free travel for Turkey and is preparing the groundwork to obtain authorization to negotiate for that. However, this is likely to prolong the conclusion of readmission negotiations further as it will take quite some time.
Turkey has already fulfilled most requirements raised by Brussels for visa-free travel in Europe. The government will introduce this week biometric secure passports to replace old ones and is working on improving immigration procedures within the framework of the integrated borders management system.
