EU relied on Turkey – now has no plan B

(Patria) - Thousands of refugees on the Bulgarian and Greek borders. Erdogan has carried out his threat to let migrants into Europe, and it is tragic that the EU still has no plan, writes Bernd Rigert, DW correspondent from Brussels, in his commentary.

For four years, the EU has relied on Turkey as the gatekeeper for refugees and other migrants. Now, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has fulfilled an old threat. Turkey is bringing asylum seekers to the borders of Greece and Bulgaria.

The Turkish ruler has thus cancelled the refugee agreement from March 2016. He is pursuing a policy on the backs of migrants camping at the borders. It is unclear what the exact goal of the Turkish president is – he has reached a dead end in foreign policy on multiple fronts. It is unlikely that he will get a better deal through blackmail.

The fact is that Turkey has received 3.6 million Syrian war refugees. It is understandable that Ankara is seeking more financial aid and is turning the valve to ease the "migration pressure" because hundreds of thousands more people from the Syrian region of Idlib, where fierce fighting is taking place, want to enter Turkey.

And what is the EU doing? Mindless calls for special summits and demands for strengthening the Frontex border service are pure hypocrisy. Because for years, the EU leadership has known exactly that the agreement with Turkey is a temporary and shaky solution. 

The European Commission has made several attempts to establish a better asylum system and a distribution of migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, and many African countries. All attempts have failed due to the opposition of EU member states, not just the usual suspects from Poland, Hungary, Austria, or Italy.

In many EU countries, a right-wing or populist opposition has taken hold, which refuses to accept refugees, let alone permanently settle migrants.

The EU has never fully implemented the refugee agreement with Turkey. Greece and EU services have failed to properly organize the asylum procedure. The consequence is a grim situation in refugee centers like Moria on the island of Lesbos. Or was the intention to create frightening images to discourage other migrants?

The EU relied on Turkey. Now it has no plan B. Greece and Bulgaria have closed their borders, but this is a desperate attempt to prevent migrants from entering, and it cannot last. According to the refugee convention and EU rules, arrivals have the right to have their status as refugees needing protection checked.

And what now? Build a wall, since barbed wire fences already exist? Close internal borders between EU countries? Abandon the UN Refugee Convention?

There is a justified fear that most EU member states will advocate for a hard line and shift all responsibility to the border states, to Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Malta, Spain, and Italy.

Goodbye to European solidarity, international law, and mercy.