Reuters / eKathimerini — Despite deep public misgivings in some countries, the European Union will this week drive forward a plan to grant Turks visa-free travel to Europe as a reward for having reduced a flood of refugees and migrants into Europe to a trickle.
The European Commission is set to declare on Wednesday that Turkey has broadly met the criteria for early visa liberalization in a blaze of last-minute legislation and ask EU governments and the European Parliament to approve the decision by the end of June, several EU sources said.
“We have not lowered our standards. Turkey has raised its game,” a senior EU official familiar with the negotiations said.
He was seeking to explain how the EU executive could certify compliance after telling lawmakers just two weeks ago that Ankara had met fewer than half the so-called benchmarks.
The political reality is that Brussels cannot say “No” and risk a collapse of a much criticized March 18 EU-Turkey deal that was a turning point in Europe’s migration crisis.
It may lack political support to sustain a “Yes”, but the Turkish government won’t take “Later” for an answer.
So in the time-honoured EU manner, the Commission will present a package aimed at offering something for everyone.
Aegean route shut
Determined action by Turkey, in concert with Greece and NATO, and the closing of borders across the Balkans, has all but shut the main Aegean route for people fleeing war and poverty in Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East and Asia.
Figures delivered daily at 6 a.m. to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker show new arrivals on the Greek islands were down to 63 last Thursday from an average 10,000 a day at the peak last October.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has warned that Ankara would stop implementing its side of the bargain to take back all those who reach Greece from its shores if Europe does not deliver on what he calls its commitment.
EU officials insist the union made no promise, and the offer applies only if Turkey meets 72 legal and technical conditions. The Commission reported this month that Ukraine and Georgia had met those benchmarks, and will add Kosovo on Wednesday.
Turkey is the most sensitive because it has the biggest population with 79 million and due to its flawed record on civil and minority rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law. Turkish officials warn against any anti-Muslim discrimination.
“This is a great opportunity for Europe to show it is a reliable partner and make it clear that they don’t apply double standards when it comes to predominantly Muslim European nations such as Turkey,” a government official in Ankara said.
Officials and diplomats say there is huge pressure to push visa liberalization through, notably from Germany, which was the main destination for about a million refugees and migrants who entered the EU last year and would be among the first to suffer if the accord with Turkey broke down.
Among the trickiest conditions is non-discriminatory access to Turkey for citizens of all EU member states, which includes Cyprus, which Ankara does not officially recognize.
A senior EU diplomat belittled any suspense around the conditions, saying: “This is just a joke. We have already made the decision.”
