EU-Turkey visa deal shot by both sides

Commission is ‘optimistic’ that visa deal can go ahead, but MEPs and Turkey are at odds.

STRASBOURG — The European Commission on Wednesday defended its embattled plan to give Turks visa-free travel in Europe, saying it remained “optimistic” the country would make the necessary legal reforms even as members of the European Parliament heaped scorn on the idea.

Speaking to MEPs in Strasbourg on Wednesday evening, Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for migration, said granting visa-free travel to Turkey was of “strategic importance” for both Turkey and the EU.

“It is now up to Turkey to take the last steps,” he said, adding that the Commission would continue to monitor Turkey’s “substantial progress.”

But MEPs were not so sure.

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In a debate in Strasbourg, lawmakers from all sides questioned the fast-track approach to visa liberalization for Turkey.

“We call on the European Commission to follow the regular procedure and send a proposal for visa-free access only when all the 72 benchmarks [that Turkey has to fulfill] are met,” said Sophie in ’t Veld, a Dutch Liberal MEP. “We are in favor of visa liberalization for Turkey, but compliance with all the requirements is non-negotiable.”

The Commission last week recommended granting visa-free travel in Europe for Turkish citizens “under the understanding that the Turkish authorities will fulfill, as a matter of urgency and as they committed to do so on 18 March 2016, the outstanding benchmarks.”

That led to fierce debate over whether the EU had caved to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in order to save its refugee deal with Ankara that would see Turkey stopping the flow of migrants to Europe in exchange for money and other benefits.

Turkey has met most, but not all, of the 72 criteria. The big sticking point is Turkey’s anti-terror law, which Ankara is refusing to change.

Ankara continued to dig in its heels Wednesday, with EU Minister Volkan Bozkir saying it would be “impossible” to change the anti-terror law while it is fighting the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

With Turkey refusing to budge, MEPs would need to soften their stance for the deal to have any chance of becoming a reality. That appeared unlikely after Wednesday’s debate in Strasbourg, with lawmakers taking a tough line.

According to officials, Martin Schulz, the president of the European Parliament, decided last week to freeze the institution’s work on the deal until after Erdoğan changes his anti-terror law. That means no discussion in committee and no appointing of MEPs to shepherd the legislation through the Parliament. All the major political groups backed Schulz’s stance.

There was more bad news for the Commission’s refugee policies on Wednesday as MEPs slammed plans for a new refugee relocation scheme under which countries would be given a threshold for taking in migrants — aimed at easing pressure on those on the frontline — and states could pay not to take their share of asylum seekers — at a cost of €250,000 per migrant.

Roberta Metsola, a Maltese center-right MEP, called the pay-not-to play system “provocative.”

“Responsibility by payment is not in my view the best road towards effective solidarity,” Metsola said.

Elly Schlein, an Italian Socialist, said the current proposals from the Commission “are not good enough.”

“Continuing the policies of the last few years with only minor tweaks is not acceptable. We need a centralized European system that allocates refugees in a fair and transparent way,”  she said. “Simply continuing with the status quo is not an option. We will fight hard in the European Parliament to ensure Europe finally gets an asylum policy that is fit for purpose.”

There were also concerns about allowing countries to keep internal border controls in place for another six months. That idea was suggested by the Commission and backed by EU ambassadors on Wednesday.

“The fences divide people, it is harmful to the economy and it destroys the foundation of Europe,” said Ska Keller, a German Green MEP. “The closing of borders has to end immediately and not just in a couple of months, at the end of the year or whenever.”