Syria refugee crisis: Turkey and EU agree outline of 'one in, one out' deal

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, outlined proposals to resettle one Syrian refugee in Europe for every Syrian returned to Turkey from the Greek islands.

After 12 hours of talks in Brussels, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, described the one in, one out proposal as “a breakthrough” that would deter refugees from making the perilous sea crossing to Greece, but said Europe needed more time to agree final details.

EU leaders will aim to seal the deal with Turkey at another summit on 17-18 March.

The Turkish proposals, which had been agreed with Merkel and the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, on the eve of the summit, came as a surprise to other EU leaders. One said EU officials were left scrambling to find out if it was “legally and logistically possible”, while another diplomat said it was “naive” to think that such a complex plan could be agreed so quickly.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/08/european-leaders-agree-outlines-of-refugee-deal-with-turkey

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One in, one out – the EU's simplistic answer to the refugee crisis

Details were still being hammered out on Monday as the talks reached witching hour, and the plan may yet fold. But at one point European top brass were at least considering the orderly resettlement of one Syrian directly from Turkey in exchange for each asylum seeker it readmits after they land on the shores of neighbouring Greece.

For some, it felt like progress. Such a scheme could see an end to the chaos in the Aegean, while ensuring that Europe lived up to its humanitarian obligations. Syrians could still have a future in Europe, while being discouraged from trying to get there haphazardly. Suddenly the hubristic claims made at the start of the day by Donald Tusk, the European council president, seemed to make more sense.
...
Closer inspection suggests Tusk may have spoken too soon. For a start, it is unclear whether a readmission agreement with Turkey will have a legal or moral basis. An Amnesty International spokesman said the deal was “worth exploring” in principle, but added that the concept of returning people to a country that does not respect human rights – in particular, the rights of refugees – was “exceedingly problematic”. It also risks contravening the UN’s refugee convention, which was one of the seminal achievements of the post-Holocaust era.

In practical terms, a one in, one out proposal also encourages people to make the Aegean crossing – and discourages the Turkish government from stopping them. If the EU will accept only as many refugees who reach Greece and are then returned to Turkey, then both the refugees and the Turks have even more incentive to make sure as many migrants reach Greece in the first place.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/07/one-in-one-out-the-eus-simplistic-answer-to-the-refugee-crisis

The idea apparently being to discourage individual refugees from trying to cross to Greece, because this puts them to the back of the queue, while those who stay in the refugee camps get an offer to come to Europe in their place.

[pfitz59]

1. Clash of cultures will lead to backlash

The ongoing refugee crisis will not end well. They are immigrating to an area which has little economic or cultural room for them.. Politicians can do what they want, but he average Joe sees competition for scarce resources.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. U.N., rights groups say EU-Turkey migrant deal may be illegal

The United Nations and human rights groups warned on Tuesday that a tentative European Union deal to send back all irregular migrants to Turkey in exchange for political and financial rewards could be illegal.

"I am deeply concerned about any arrangement that would involve the blanket return of anyone from one country to another without spelling out the refugee protection safeguards under international law," U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
...
Rights group Amnesty International called the proposed mass return of migrants a "death blow to the right to seek asylum". Relief charity Doctors without Borders said it was cynical and inhumane.

But Davutoglu insisted the preliminary deal would not stop Syrian refugees legitimately seeking shelter in Europe.

http://in.reuters.com/article/europe-migrants-idINKCN0WA293

[Nihil]

3. The "death blow to the right to seek asylum" was already given by the wave of non-refugee migrants.

The combination of Schengen and the unrelenting flow of economic migrants
(from Eastern Europe as well as China, Africa, Middle East) has exhausted the
spirit of the open door refugee laws that were originally made with the
"best intentions" (but, true to form, we know where that leads).