Turkey gets 3bn euros from the EU for giving a batch of promises

Turkey came out a clear winner from the EU28 leaders summit on EU-Turkey. It was agreed that Turkey would be granted 3 billion euos in refugee aid as well as a promise to accelerate the EU accession process. In return, Turkey would aid the EU by stemming the migration flow to the EU bloc.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu celebrated the talks as a “new beginning” for EU-Turkey relations that have been strained over territorial clashes.

The EU acknowledged that Turkey currently hosts 2.2 million Syrian refugees and has 8 billion dollars to help in that direction. The EU turned to Turkey for assistance after it experienced its largest population flow since World War II as more than 900,000 people headed to the EU, of which a large number transit through Turkey.

The EU wants Turkey to hold back the flow, and in return chapter 17 concerning economic and numismatic union for the entry process will be opened in the first quarter of 2016. Until now, entry talks have stalled due to Turkey’s failure to recognize Cyprus, also an EU member state, but it appears that this will be overlooked in the opening of the next chapter.

Turkey would also like to see a waivering of visa requirements to the EU, however European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made it clear that this would depend on Turkey’s success in handling the migratory flow.

Greece’s reaction

The Greek Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government and its junior coalition member, Independent Greeks (ANEL), appeared pleased with the outcome of the meeting. A government source in Brussels stated that there was satisfaction that the joint statement included Greek positions, ie. that Turkey’s entry to the EU would take place within a negotiatory and time framework.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in his address welcomed the initiative for the meeting after 11 years and proposed the next meeting to be held on a Greek island. “It should be held at the EU-Turkey borders that need to become cooperation borders,” he said. He noted that Turkey’s accession efforts could be an opportunity for decoratic reforms to help solve Greek-Turkish differences and the Cyprus issue.

Tsipras stressed that the accession process should include a resolution of the long-standing Cyprus dispute.