|
ANALYSIS
“For European officials, Turkey’s recent hostile statements against the EU and the country’s renewed friendship with Russia has sounded alarm bells, with officials increasingly fearful that a pillar of the EU’s migration strategy could collapse—with dire consequences for the prospect of opening new chapters in Turkey’s EU membership bid,” writes Politico Europe‘s Florian Eder.
“There are good reasons to grant Turks a visa waiver. But right now, it’s especially important that Europe insist Ankara first meet the criteria the EU has determined necessary for that waiver to happen. That includes a reform of Turkey’s anti-terror laws, which the government has been using to imprison political opponents without due process. The EU must not let itself be blackmailed by Erdogan,” argues Mathieu von Rohr in Der Spiegel.
“Juncker has warned that thousands of people could make their way into Europe again, should the deal collapse. Yet on closer inspection this standoff is paradoxical. The two sides are squabbling over a deal that was difficult to implement from the outset, and that ultimately proved ineffective. The collapse of the EU-Turkey agreement constitutes neither a credible threat from Turkey nor an existential danger for the EU,” writes Angelos Chryssogelos at CNN.
|