“Common Challenges for Turkey and EU - Refugee Crisis 2.0" panel was organized in Brussels, the capital of Belgium by the Directorate of Communications.
SETA Brussels Coordinator and Director of European Studies, Dr. Enes Bayraklı, Assistant Director of TOBB ETU Center for Social Policy Research Başak Yavçan, Secretary-General of the European Parliament Turkey Forum Laura Batalla Adam and Senior Analyst Alexandra Stiglmayer from the think-tank European Stability Initiative were the speakers at the panel, which was moderated by Brussels Representative of the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM) Murat Koral.
During his speech, SETA Brussels Coordinator and Director of European Studies Bayraklı said that the Syrian people were initially affected by the crisis in Syria, followed by Turkey due to the terrorist attacks and refugees it was hosting.
Pointing out that the internal conflict in Syria also affected Europe; Bayraklı stated that terrorist attacks by organizations such as Al-Qaeda and DAESH took place on this continent.
Recalling that genocide was carried out before the eyes of the European Union (EU) in Srebrenica, during the civil war of Yugoslavia, Bayraklı said, “The EU countries or European actors could not come together and find a solution at that time because we know that the EU is weak concerning foreign security.”
Emphasizing that he did not believe that the US President Donald Trump’s administration would take an initiative in resolving the Syrian crisis, Bayraklı indicated that Turkey launched military operations along its border for its own security following the July 15 coup attempt.
Bayraklı said: “The renewal of the Agreement of March 18 signed between the EU and Turkey will only be a temporary solution”, and cited the highly difficult situation faced in Syria.
Warning that if political and diplomatic support was not extended to Turkey regarding Syria and pressure was not exerted on Russia and the Assad regime, the Assad regime supported by Russia could resume attacks in Idlib, Bayraklı added: “We should not only deal with the results of the crisis but also with the civil war in Syria, which it is the main reason thereof.”
Bayraklı stated that Turkey prevented ethnic cleansing in Idlib, nevertheless, it could not receive sufficient support from its allies."
"The EU remained extremely silent concerning the Greek violations"
Stiglmayer from the European Stability Initiative said that the EU allocated 6 billion euros under the Agreement of March 18 and that it paid 3.2 billion euros of it.
Underlining the need to organize an international conference on how to help those affected by the Idlib crisis, Stiglmayer also mentioned the situation of the refugees on the Greek border.
Stiglmayer added: “Greece suspended asylum-seeker applications for a month and Hungary for an unlimited period. The EU remained extremely silent, although these were clear violations of the EU treaties.”
Stressing that 30 thousand people were relocated in line with the Agreement of March 18, Stiglmayer emphasized that this was not enough, that the European Commission should stop the violence on the Greek border and that if it was tolerated, European values would be harmed.
“What we have witnessed over the past week is the politicization of the refugee crisis”
Secretary-General of the European Parliament's Turkey Forum Laura Batalla said: “What we have witnessed along the Turkish-Greek border over the past week is the politicization of the refugee crisis”, adding that the Agreement of March 18 became unpredictable.
Indicating that she considered Greece’s decision to suspend the requests for asylum as illegal, Batalla also criticized the EU for describing Greece as a ‘shield in border security’.
Assistant Director of TOBB ETU Center for Social Policy Research Yavçan suggested that even though there was a warmer approach towards asylum-seekers in Turkey during the early years, field researches showed that it declined "due to the influx of new migrants.”
Underlining that the humanitarian aid would increase if the safe zone was established in Idlib, Yavçan stated that the decrease in the international financial and political support to the region confronted Turkey with difficult choices.