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EU, Turkey have political interest in making deal on migration to work

Türkiye Materials 5 April 2016 18:10 (UTC +04:00)
Turkey and the EU - have political interest in making the deal designed to halt the uncontrolled influx of refugees to the EU to work, Nimrod Goren, the founder and chairman of Mitvim - Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, believes.
EU, Turkey have political interest in making deal on migration to work

Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 5

By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:

Turkey and the EU - have political interest in making the deal designed to halt the uncontrolled influx of refugees to the EU to work, Nimrod Goren, the founder and chairman of Mitvim - Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, believes.

"Given the problematic nature of Turkey-EU relations - the hardships of the recent years, and the significant EU criticism regarding [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan's domestic conduct on issues of democracy - it is not trivial for the two sides to able to reach such an agreement," Goren told Trend.

He noted that it has been made possible because both sides understand the need and identify potential gains, and are willing to withstand domestic criticism of the deal.

Under the EU-Turkish deal, signed last month, migrants arriving illegally in Greece are expected to be sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected. In exchange, the EU agreed to resettle up to 72,000 Syrian refugees under the so-called "one-for-one plan" directly from Turkey and speed up financial aid to help Turkey care for the Syrian refugees it is hosting.

The first boats carrying migrants, mainly from Pakistan, were deported from Greece to Turkey on April 5. Turkey has agreed to accept up to 500 migrants per day.

Goren noted that the deal may somewhat ease the immediate refugee crisis in the EU. However it will not solve many pressing issues related to the continuation of the civil war in Syria, the humanitarian disaster taking place there, and domestic European issues regarding the legal status of incoming refugees, their absorption into societies, and the rise of anti-Muslim/anti-immigrants voice, he said.

Edited by SI

Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova

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