Turkey is blackmailing the European Union. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hopes to pressure European states into supporting a no-fly zone in Syria by opening his borders to allow refugees to travel to the EU. The Dutch government has already come out in favour of a no-fly zone.
Dozens of Turkish soldiers were killed in February 2020 in a Syrian government airstrike. Russia and the Assad regime both accuse Turkey of providing artillery and drone support to Syrian rebel groups. A no-fly zone would potentially disrupt Russian air support for Syrian government forces. However, Russia (which has a veto in the UN Security Council) has previously said it will not allow a no-fly zone.
The EU does not want a new refugee crisis. The 2015 migrant crisis helped fuel a wave of populism across the bloc, and arguably contributed to the Brexit vote in 2016. According to the UN, 13,000 people have already arrived since Turkey opened its borders, and the EU border control agency Frontex expects many more.
President Erdoğan had been threatening this move for some time, arguing that the EU has not been abiding by the terms of the EU-Turkey refugee agreement, and that promised funds have not been received to support Turkey in the care of Syrian refugees. As a result, Turkey no longer feels it has an obligation to the EU to stop refugees on their way to Europe.
Is the EU facing a new refugee crisis? How should Europe respond to Turkey opening its borders to refugees coming to the EU? Let us know your thoughts and comments in the form below and we’ll take them to policymakers and experts for their reactions!
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Yes
It seems the crisis is back. The EU, dont know how to deal with reality, burocrats are good for raising taxes and nothing more
Not new, just a continuation….handing out billions of euros in bribes to warlords in Libya and Erdogan to outsource EU border control and effectively imprison them, leaves it open to situations like this.
The EU has botched any chance of a coherent policy since Merkels unilateral opening of Germany’s borders…it continues to reap the whirlwind, adding to the fracturing of trust amongst the countries…old scores (greece/turkey) and further strains east/west.
Yes and I would like to see the EU first look after everyone in all member states before allowing more people into all EU states
Yes. Thank you, Frau Merkel. You let Erdogan to do whatever he wants and now he is letting them come to Europe for punishment. She took Europe as the most stable and prosperous Union on the planet and now the EU is in ruins. This is the most incompetent person you can rely on for anything.
Yes
Really..? I did not notice…. Is there a refugee crisis?
Stay strong Greek brothers.
Yes stay strong you say, most propably sitting happily in your sofa. Immigrants should not be suck in Greece making the country the Ellis Island of Europe. Or alternatively make Erdogan play by the rules. It’s easy to beat in front of this creature Erdogan and wish a small country like Greece with so many problems to play everybody else’s game..
@Makis i agree, European countries should help Greece and not leaving them dealing with this.
Greece is fighting for Europe. We need to send our armies and money to help Greece push back these people. If we don’t we get more illegals, crime, violence, rape, Islamic terrorism and political parties that are far right as a response. Europe must end the support for US regime change wars on Europe’s doorstep. We get the refugees, we get the crime, we get the terror, the US gets some imagined foreign policy success if setting the middle east on fire & destabilizing Europe can be called a success.
Turkey has been looking at 4 million refugees for years. But no one supports turkey.
Turkey is part of the NATO regime change against Syria’s government as such Turkey is responsible for Syrians fleeing their country, the least you can do is to take care of the people you put in this situation with your war hawk policies.
The EU is finished, it’s just a matter of when.
It’s finished for the British, not for the Europeans. The EU is mainly a project of peace. So despite the problems it hasn’t failed. It will get stronger.
is that a reason to be happy? Do you know why the EU exists?
The EU only exists as a massive experiment that failed. It is the worst agreement ever made in history.
Yes I do think it’s a good thing, its killing Europe
despite some normal difficulties it’s just the beginning of what it always was supposed to be: a compact multinational and multicultural economic and political force, united through its diversity.
The British are Europeans, the EU is not Europe it’s an organisation that want to control Europe.
But it’s not though, it’s trying to take over national sovereignty of each country.
you’re out, so don’t worry about the EU, it is no more your business. The EU member countries will do everything to preserve it, its values and aims.
Thanks to brexiters, the EU is stronger than ever. The UK could be finished, the EU is facing many problems because the European project is massive, but we will cope with them, fail some times, but never give up as the British have done.
In 1974/75 Portugal, a country with 10 million inhabitants, took, in the course of a year, 1 million people seeking refuge from the war in the former portuguese Colonies.
Quantify you “crisis” please…
“crisis” – flooding EU with illegal immigrants by Turkey.
One million people with completely different lifestyles and views of society.
With little more possession than the clothes they carried.
With no job. No food. No home.
So… I ask again quantify your crisis please.
Refugees from countries the Portuguese empire had conquered that is totally different
Tell me where the difference is, Pantelis? Please. Indulge me.
It is still a country increasing 10% in population within a year.
Still I’ve been asking for a quantification. Which seems to be escaping your attention.
…or not.
On a more personally oriented note, the “crisis” is being announced as one of the European Union, not Greek. The same way as the fact that practically all of those arriving in Portugal did so in Lisbon did not make it a local issue.
yes, it was hard and had a serious impact on the country, but they were Portuguese or descendants, same language, same religion.
So, Pamela. There’s no crisis. It’s just that you don’t like them…
You continue not to quantify it Pantelis…
I’m guessing your reason is deeper than the ones you expressed.
1. Nearly every country in the EU profited from middle east and north Africa at one point or another. There was no ethical reason to take them it was moral. The same as when we took tens of thousands of refugees during world war
2. Conflicts in middle east and north Africa are, in large scale, the result of EU, among others, exploitation system.
3. Turkey is taking care of them. Of far more than all the EU countries together. And they’re not pushing them. They just let them pass. (Europe goes all the way to the Urals, I’m pickish on this).
4. Of course Turkey is seeking war. What else could it be. Especially if you say so.
it’s not a matter of liking them or not, already millions of them have entered, no documents, no jobs or houses for them, problems in integration because of their different customs, traditions or religion. So what are we supposed to do?? Let millions more come in without control?? Where will they live and work??? Erdogan has received millions of euros to help them, what he is doing is chantage, if these are allowed to come in there will be no end. Terrible situation, no doubt about that, but impossible to open the borders.
3.4 million people are in Turkey and a few more thousand in the idlib province that Turkey is attacking atm . We have a saying in Greece . Whoever is outside the dance he sings a lot of songs… The neighbour of Greece unfortunately don’t do a fiesta and it is easy to have an opinion if you are not faced with the immidiate consequences. Also it’s easy to judge when you have already collected the fruits of colonialism…
We can let them in without control… or, exactly… with control.
When you say millions… you say what? 1 million? 5? 10? 100?
We’re, roughly, 400 million people in the EU.
And like I said… you cannot even start to imagine how wildly different were the customs and traditions between African and European portuguese.
I continue to not understand the usage of crisis here.
And I also see from you comment that, as you paid, those human lives are not your concern.
I do agree that your 26 brothers within the EU are being a bunch of bastards.
I live in Luxembourg. 600.000 people. 100.000€/capita GDP.
We’re receiving 10 underage of those 3.5 million. Not 10 million, obviously, nor thousand: 10 people.
I spent my morning insulting the authorities here.
This is not (should not be) a Greek issue. This is why I ask for the crisis to be quantified.
Obviously if this is just an Greek issue than I agree we have a crisis.
Would I be the Greek prime minister and I would buy 95% of them (estimating Greece has very roughly 5% of EU population) train tickets to the next country.
It’s our welcoming capacity that is in crisis! Refugees are on the run!
over a million migrants just in 2015. Just from 2016 to 2019 there were 845.446 of clandestine and irregular migrants receiving asylum in Europe. Facts.
“More than 10,000 migrants have been trying to breach the border since Turkey said last Thursday it would no longer abide by a 2016 deal with the European Union to halt illegal migration flows to Europe in return for billions of euros in aid.”
https://www.google.co.uk/…/article/amp/idUKKBN20R21U
I think your comparison is not proportional. The PORTUGUESE returning and some generations stepping for the first time on mother nation were doing a massive service to the country by colonising those places they were expelled from during the colonial wars. Portugal ought to give them a second life. Massive efforts were done to accommodate everyone with entire neighbourhoods built for that purpose. It all came out of public funding as far as I know. Those people struggled massively to find jobs and decent accommodation, not to mention segregation.
I fail to see where you read killing greek soldiers.
But I guess I’m not blinded enough by hatred or nationalism.
Either way… you fail to provide the quantitative argument.
All you provide is hate.
right now all the borders from Greece to Europe are closed, even if we open our borders the way of those people will be blocked by Bulgaria, Northern Macedonia and Albania , like it happen in 2015
I agree 100000 people even a million isn’t a big deal for the 30 something EU states, long as they don’t dump them in one or two border countries
EU mast take responsibility of the situation and must make a decision on what will do next
Not just pumping money to Erdogan’s blackmail
I have a feeling that Europeans haven’t wet realised how dangerous Erdogan is
Erdogan’s paramilitary police is attacking the Greek borders with asphyxiation gas canisters for days, the Greek borders are European borders a lunatic is attacking them and EU is pretending that it’s not happening
legal or illegal is a convention. Owning people in what now is European Union was legal up to a couple of centuries.. Hell… Spanking your wife was legal up to a couple of decades…
so if this creature erdogan is not pushing, how come thrn and just two days ago he reassured Bulgarian PM Borrisov, that no refugee will pass the Bulgarian boarders? Meaning that all will try to pass through the Greek ones in land and sea? Permit me to say that your thinking is amazingly naive: erdogan is exploiting all conflicts demands closed boarders with syria, creates security zones with syria, invades syria and on the same time his boarders are open to all nationalities that come or try to come in Greece: Iraqis, Palestinians, afgans, Pakistanis, Libyans, Tynisians, Marocans, all central African states. Isn’t that strange and peculiar? This creep is exploiting all refugees from almost everywhere like pawns for two reasons: one to attack its enemy greece, and blackmail eu, now with the no fly zone in Syria and permanently with dometing else: do you know what? To take free Visa for the turks to EU. The only country in the world to ask for such think. The turks! The most savage nationality on earth. Ask Syria, ask Libya , ask Cuprus, ask the Kurds ask Greeks and above all ask Armenians. So try to thing a bit deeper please. Thank you. PS you can verify everything I say with official statistics on refugees.
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yesterday Erdogan threatened Greeks that he will make them refugees to,begging for his kindness, today he moves 1000 Turkish commandos to break the Greek borders and murder our troops in order to start an invasion, do you understand the difference?
Do you have any idea what the Turkish do to the locals ones they have occupied a territory? Ask the Cypriots to tell you some horror stories about rapping children in order to make them give birth to Turks
If you don’t know what we are dealing with try to inform your self a little bit
start by showing me that Erdogan threat.
«ο Έλληνας που προσπαθεί με κάθε δυνατό τρόπο να μην δέχεται πρόσφυγες στη χώρα του δεν θα πρέπει να ξεχνάει ότι ίσως έρθει μια μέρα που θα βρεθεί εκείνος στη θέση να αναζητήσει συμπόνια» ( 2/3/2020 ) .translation :the “Greek” that trying to avoid the refugees from entering his country should remember that one day he might need to beg for kindness – if that isn’t a threat I don’t know what is
… and the 1000 commandos? Where was it published?
About needing… a lot of Greeks once took refuge in Syria. Not so long ago.
As for Erdogan’s fake news the pic is from Syria but the volunteers was from a BRITISH humanitarian organisation
Just try to check your sources
There were also Greek refugees in Syria after 1922 massacre that Erdogan is bragging about
They even have a holiday in Turkey the day that thrown women and children at sea
Ps I have refugee grandparents from Cyprus and black sea
I know all about Turkish kindness
we would not be in hostage by Erdogan if we would allow free circulation, we would not force the people to pay plenty of money that they don’t have to smugglers, we would thereby not only make circulqtion in one way easier but both ways. A lot are deceived here, but if they took the money from the whole family or village, will they go back empty hands? No! But if they would be free to travel like most Europeans are then it would be another story. And maybe the EU would stop unfair trade agreements to continue exploiting African countries…
What crisis? It’s an act of humanity, everybody should deserve a life in peace so open borders, love for all <3 Europe should not forget it's empathy! And not only for us rich privileged Europeans.
1) the refugees came directly to Portugal and the Portuguese having taken their money through colonialism had an ethical reason to take them in. The people from the Portuguese colonies already had been culturally assimilated to a great extent so it was easier to fit in. Also the conflicts in the Portuguese colonies were a result of colonialism and it is the least the Portuguese could do, something that no other former colonial power did. 2) the people are driven towards Greece and used as pawns towards Greece . None of them are driven towards Bulgaria. 3) refugees coming into turkey are already in a country that is obliged to care for them. There is no reason for Turkey to drive them out especially when it is subsidised from the EU. Europe can take people but can’t be blackmailed. 4) Turkey is seeking war and using refugees as a weapon
Yes. EU MUst stop all relations with Turkey and support Greece
Not new. It’s never been resolved.
The EU is too soft with dictators, blackmailers and tyrants. It is very worrying if the EU with access to experts and billions of euros cannot come up with an effective strategy to sort this all out.
The EU is too soft with dictators, blackmailers and tyrants. It is very worrying if the EU with access to experts and billions of euros cannot come up with an effective strategy to sort this all out.
The EU is too slow to see and act regarding to what’s going on at the Greek borders. The German stance is dispeakable, and once Greece falls under the hordes of illegal immigrants that Turkey aids to pass, then EU will also oay the price. The UK’s support of war criminal Erdogan is also shameful, but expected. All this started because of the unjustfied wars by the Americans, and they should step in, admit it, and bear most of the burden.
The EU suffers form an incompetence-crisis and the effects of a marxist progressive agenda.
If Greece won the Greek-Turkish War from (1919–1922) then Bulgaria would never had a border with Turkey. This means that all of the refugee problem will belong just to Greece.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Turkish_War_(1919%E2%80%931922)
Being as how they’re largely responsible for the chaos in Syria,just how many refugees as Russia taken?.
Before getting lost in the everyday life, a first principle is to be established: no one could become tyrant without having close bureaucrats, careerists, people hired for life in the State. No tyrant will rise in a Country with a true Res Publica: participated at fixed time by competent and considerate citizens that are happy to return common persons once finished their allotted time. If intellectuals, journalists, philosophers, professors, thinkers, think tanks, said that … the Europe and the World would change in a snap. Because the deep, real, true problem is not in the politics but in the people hired for life inside the State, in the careerists, in the bureaucrats, that lay around close to the governments, to the politicians. Let us dismiss these figures inherited from our tyrannical past, let us hire only for a fixed time inside our Res Publica, inside our Public Employment, and the EU and the whole World will change in a snap. Beware of all those intellectuals, journalists, philosophers, professors, thinkers, think tanks, that you have passionately, convincingly, blindly followed for decades and never led you along the only way forward: that of honesty. Democracy means sharing of the Res Publica. Few words are necessary to say the truth …
totally unnecessary if EU member states would comply to the rules they’ve set up themselves
The crisis is ongoing not new . The middle east has many problems that cant be solved by moving its people about or eventually to Europe . Lets face it , if it were not for oil the fences would have gone up years ago and they would have been left to their misery .
Most answers make depressive reading, but show at least the difficulties to come up with a feasible solution. the EU Commission has made a reasonable proposal (share the political refugees among all member states, return economic refugees to the countries of origin, and help boost the development of those countries). It proved politically unacceptable for a number of members. The fault of this failure must be attributed to the nationalist instincts of some of those members. Would it be feasible to threaten to suspend the membership of Schengen of those that fail to accept a majority agreement on immigration? Considering that the EU needs some 15m more immigrants to prosper, would it stand to reason to accept those that our economy needs (like do the US)? Can one increase immigrant integration in E. national societies by avoiding an excessive concentration of culturally similar immigrant groups in few places (distribution)? Would the immigration problem be more manageable if the EU decided to put its house in order (ESDP, Banking Union, industrial policy, E taxation (CO2, plastics, FAANGS, FinancialTrasaction Tax, common employment insurance…?
No solution is without disadvantages for somebody. For instance, selection the most educated economic immigrants would involve brain drain for their countries of origin. Europe seem at the moment too divided to properly tackle e phenomenon which in the post-COV19 economic crisis is likely to increase world-wide.