EU Leaders Say Hard Work ahead for Turkey Migrant Deal
European Union leaders warned hard work was needed at a summit on Thursday to seal a deal with Turkey to curb the migration crisis, despite signs that key hold-out Cyprus is ready to compromise.
Several expressed concerns about the proposed accord, under which all migrants landing in Greece would be sent back to Turkey which has been seeking EU membership for decades.
A divided EU has pinned its hopes on a bargain with Turkey to cut off the main route used by the 1.2 million asylum seekers who have landed in the bloc since January 2015, sparking the continent's biggest migration crisis since World War II.
"I am cautiously optimistic but frankly, more cautious than optimistic," European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters before the leaders sat down for talks in Brussels.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- a strong backer of the deal who faces political pressure at home for her open-door asylum policy -- warned there were "many things to resolve" but evoked "cautious optimism, stressing the word cautious".
The 28 EU leaders will thrash out their negotiating position in Brussels on Thursday before meeting Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday to push for a deal.
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades indicated he could be ready to compromise on his objections, after earlier threatening to block the entire deal due to tensions with Turkey over the divided island.
Tusk visited Nicosia this week in a bid to win over Anastasiades, who also held talks in Brussels with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday.
"There are obstacles, but I do hope that during the deliberations that will follow at the European Council, there is going to be a compromise," Anastasiades told reporters, adding that an "alternative" was possible.
Anastasiades opposes the opening of new "chapters" in the long-stalled EU membership application by Turkey, which refuses to recognize the Cypriot government on the island, divided since Turkish troops invaded the north in 1974.
But concerns that the Turkey deal could breach European and international law on the treatment of refugees remained and some leaders were skeptical about the chances of agreement.
"I think the proposed package is very complicated, will be very difficult to implement and is on the edge of international law," Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said he had "fears over the legal issues... you can't just put aside the Geneva convention".
The deal also faces criticism over concerns that Ankara is attempting to strong-arm Europe into a favorable deal, despite EU concerns over rights issues in Turkey, knowing it is desperate for a solution.
The planned accord includes visa-free travel for Turks to the EU and possibly doubling aid for Syrian refugees in Turkey to six billion euros ($6.8 billion).
"I can't accept negotiations which sometimes look like they are a form of blackmail," Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told reporters. "We are not going to be dupes in this affair."
But the pressure on the leaders to reach a solution is huge, with the EU's Schengen passport-free travel area cracking as countries reintroduce border checks to curb migrants, and anti-immigration parties on the rise.
"There is no alternative, we have to come to a deal," said Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. He said a deal could cut the flow of migrants within three or four weeks.
Under the key clause in the deal, in exchange for Turkey taking back all migrants arriving in Greece, the EU will resettle one Syrian refugee for every Syrian readmitted on Turkish soil.
In order to meet legal requirements, all migrants arriving in the Greek islands across the Aegean Sea will be registered and have their asylum applications processed there, according to a draft of the agreement seen by AFP.
The draft also stresses that the one-for-one plan is a "temporary and extraordinary measure" and effectively capped at 72,000 migrants.
The summit will also call for aid to Greece to deal with a bottleneck of refugees, after Balkan countries shut their borders to stop them heading north to richer Germany and Scandinavia.
Source: Agence France Presse
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