Into the bazaar of EU-Turkey relations by Rem Korteweg
Few of the European Union’s foreign relationships are as complex as that with Turkey. It has become the EU’s indispensable neighbour, but also a difficult one. Ankara has a role in most of the urgent issues that Europe faces today: the migration crisis, energy security, the Syrian conflict, and relations with Russia. If the EU is to achieve its goals in any of these areas, it needs to find a way to co-operate with Turkey that respects European interests without compromising its values. On March 18th, the EU agreed a deal with Turkey aimed at arresting the flow of migrants across the Aegean Sea. Under the terms of the agreement Athens can send irregular migrants back, while legitimate refugees will be flown to the EU directly from Turkey. In return, the EU will pay Turkey €6 billion to support the refugee camps, has promised to lift visa restrictions, and will open a new chapter in its talks on EU membership.
Europe needs Turkey to fulfil two functions: to be a barrier to irregular migration and European jihadists returning from Syria and Iraq; and to be a corridor for Europe’s energy supplies as it reduces its dependence on Russia. It would also like Turkey to follow Europe’s model of liberal governance and the rule of law, ostensibly with EU membership as its ultimate goal. The EU will only be able to pursue all three goals with better co-ordination and a strategic approach.
Europe’s generosity comes from its sense of panic. The migration crisis has strained the EU’s cohesion. Borders have been erected across parts of the passport-free Schengen zone and recriminations among European leaders are exposing the limits of EU solidarity. Whether or not the deal holds, it is clear that Turkey is now central to Europe’s efforts to prevent the roll-back of European integration. At the press conference after the migration deal was announced, Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu boldly said that “there is no EU future without Turkey”.
Refugees aside, the EU wants Turkey to do more to control the movement of potential terrorists to and from areas controlled by Daesh, the socalled Islamic State. Foreign fighters from Europe – estimated at between four and six thousand in total – mainly travel to and from Syria via Turkey. The attacks in Brussels on March 22nd underline again that the EU and Turkey need to exchange information on the movements of jihadists. For Turkey, the priority is its domestic security. Five bombings have taken place in as many