Turkey, Germany to join forces on refugee crisis

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN

The Turkish and German governments have agreed to intensify cooperation against irregular migration while stressing that they will keep their doors open to asylum seekers fleeing conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu assured Chancellor Angela Merkel at a joint-Cabinet meeting in Berlin on Friday that Turkey would continue to take measures to decrease the refugee influx towards Western Europe.

“Turkey has already started taking measures in line with the EU-Turkey joint action plan agreed on Nov. 29,” Davutoglu told a joint press conference with Merkel.

“A few days ago, we adopted a decision that allows Syrian refugees to work in Turkey. We have also started implementing visa requirements for Syrian nationals who are travelling from third countries,” he said.

“We have increased our cooperation with [EU border agency] Frontex in the Aegean. We are planning to take additional measures in the near future together with working groups between Turkey and Germany,” he added.

Davutoglu called on all EU member states to take responsibility, and underlined that a solution to the refugee crisis could only be achieved through genuine cooperation, by sharing the burden.

“The refugee crisis is not a crisis of Germany. It is not a crisis of Turkey. These are not crises we are exporting. On the contrary they are the reflections of conflicts in Syria and Iraq,” he said.

Davutoglu’s Berlin visit came amid growing divisions within the EU on ways to address the refugee crisis, as several member states, including Poland and Hungary, openly challenged Merkel’s open-door policy for asylum seekers, and closed their frontiers to refugees.

‘Merkel is not alone’

Davutoglu praised Chancellor Merkel for approaching the refugee crisis as a “humanitarian issue”, rather than a “strategic risk”. He dismissed criticisms in the media that claimed Merkel is increasingly becoming isolated in Europe.

“Neither Ms. Merkel, nor Germany, is alone on this issue. Turkey is determined to go hand-in-hand with Germany throughout this critical process,” he said.

Davutoglu commended Merkel for showing leadership that would go down in history.

“At a time when in many parts of the world people have forgotten the humanitarian aspect of the Syrian refugee crisis, and when some have started to argue that there is no place for Muslims in Europe, Ms. Merkel has taken a step on behalf of the conscience of humanity, a step which will go down in history,” Davutoglu said.

“Syrian refugees will never forget Germany’s humanitarian stance, the history of international relations with record this humanitarian decision,” he stressed.

EU’s promised aid for Turkey

Chancellor Merkel said a solution to the refugee crisis can only be achieved by closer cooperation between the EU and Turkey.

“On Nov. 29, we have agreed on an EU-Turkey Action Plan. All parties have undertaken commitments,” Merkel said.

“We welcome the Turkish government’s decision to give work permit to Syrian refugees. From the European side we will provide €3 billion [in] aid, for projects for the refugees, in order to improve their living conditions. I have assured the Turkish side on this once again today,” she said.

EU member Italy reportedly objected last week to the formula proposed for collecting the funding, which is planned to come from both the EU budget and member states.

Merkel said EU leaders and Davutoglu will review progress on the EU-Turkey Action Plan at a meeting in Brussels on Feb. 18.

She said EU and Turkish authorities would also discuss enhancing cooperation between the EU border agency Frontex and the Turkish Coast Guard in the Aegean, for a more effective fight against illegal migration.

Germany has been the most active supporter of the EU-Turkey deal. The EU's biggest economy received 1.1 million refugees in 2015; at 428,000 Syrians were the largest group.

Turkey is currently hosting 2.5 million Syrian and 300,000 Iraqi refugees.

Syria peace talks

Davutoglu expressed hope that progress in Syria peace talks would help reduce the refugee influx from the war-torn country.

He underlined that only real political change in Syria would convince refugees to return to their country.

“If Assad will still remain in power, no Syrian refugee would want to return to Syria, because they would not believe that the conditions have really changed,” he said.

Davutoglu underlined that Turkey and Germany will be in close coordination to achieve progress in Syria peace talks.

Turkish and German governments held their first ever joint-Cabinet meeting on Friday, for discussions that focused on the refugee crisis, the fight against terrorism and the conflict in Syria.

The Turkish delegation included Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Economy Minister Mustafa Elitas and EU Minister Volkan Bozkir.

Joint declaration

In a joint declaration released after the meeting, Turkish and German governments expressed their commitment to strengthen cooperation in foreign and security policy, fight against terrorism and organized crime.

“At a time when the international community is facing unprecedented challenges, the Turkish-German partnership is more essential than ever as regards contributing to maintain and promote peace and stability in the wider region,” the declaration said.

“As the most recent heinous attacks in Istanbul and those before it in Ankara and Suruc confirmed, there is a strong and urgent need to further deepen cooperation in the legitimate fight against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including with regard to Daesh, PKK, DHKP-C and others.”

Both governments tasked their interior ministers to quickly finalize a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in fight against people smugglers and criminal networks.