EU Expects Cooperation from Subsequent Turkish Gov't to Finish Migration, Visa Deals
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The European Union expects cooperation from any subsequent Turkish government to finish migration and visa deals, the EU's envoy to Turkey said Friday, a day after Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced he was stepping down.
"We worked together well with the administration, the refugee deal was an initiative proposed by the Turkish administration under Davutoglu," the head of European Commision delegation to Turkey, Hansjorg Haber, told reporters in a briefing.
"To finish the deal we need continuity, in technical issues as well as in the willingness to fulfill benchmarks. We expect that from any subsequent government," Haber added, Reuters reported.
Turkey has demanded its citizens be allowed to enter the European Union's passport-free Schengen zone without visas by June, in exchange for it taking back migrants from Europe.
The EU struck the deal with Turkey to send back all "irregular" migrants who arrive in Greece after March 20 and fail to win asylum, in a bid to halt mass migration which has created enormous strain in Europe.
In exchange the EU will resettle one Syrian refugee from camps in Turkey for every Syrian that Turkey takes from the Greek islands, the aim being to discourage people from crossing to Greece in the first place.
The accord is awash with legal and moral concerns, and critics have accused the EU of sacrificing its values and overlooking Turkey's growing crackdown on free speech in order to secure the deal.