Unsustainable agreement between Turkey and the EU

The negotiations between Turkey and the European Union regarding the future of refugees flocking to Europe via Turkey was finalized on March 18, with a reconfirmation of the Joint Action Plan agreed to earlier on Nov. 29, 2015. According to the plan, the two sides aim to step up their cooperation to prevent the flow of refugees to Europe, which has been plunged into a deep crisis as a result with a lack of solidarity among its members. With the arrival of approximately 1 million people in 2015 alone, EU member states have tried to tackle the related challenges through individual measures rather than a collective response. 

While some, such as Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia, have chosen to close their borders, others like Germany implemented ad hoc border controls, suspended Schengen rules and tried to limit the stream of refugees fleeing their homes in war-torn countries. Amid the crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing domestic pressure, took the leadership in trying to find a concrete and sustainable solution.

With the failure of an initial plan for the relocation of asylum seekers from Greece and Italy to other members, Merkel started the negotiation process with Turkey in October 2015 to ask for the latter's cooperation in Europe's biggest refugee crises since the end of World War II. Although officials from both sides have emphasized the humanitarian aspects of negotiations, the issue was inevitably linked to Turkey's long-stalled membership process.

The final deal includes the readmission of illegal refugees by Turkey from Greece from March 20 onwards and in return an EU agreement to resettle legal refugees from Turkey, up to a total of 72,000, for every refugee readmitted to Turkey. Moreover, to improve the conditions of...