EU
set to re-open Turkey talks
Draft
conclusions show what leaders are prepared to do for a deal on
refugees.
By JACOPO BARIGAZZI
11/27/15, 7:25 PM CET
The EU is set to
agree to re-start talks on Turkey’s application to join the Union
in exchange for securing Ankara’s cooperation in stemming the flow
of refugees from the Middle East to Europe, according to draft
conclusions being prepared ahead of a special summit on Sunday.
According to the
conclusions, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO, the EU and
Turkey would open negotiations in early 2016 on several new areas of
the accession process, including energy, judiciary and fundamental
rights, justice freedom and security, and foreign, security and
defense policy.
Before any country
can join the EU, it must meet legal requirements on several so-called
“chapters,” each of which requires significant negotiation. In
the case of Turkey there are 33 chapters to negotiate, of which so
far only 14 have been opened and one has been closed.
Turkey’s bid to
join the Union has been stalled for years over a variety of political
concerns, and diplomats said there will still be significant
hesitation about promising Ankara too much. But since the refugee
crisis began escalating, getting Turkish cooperation has been seen as
crucial to keeping refugees in the region by making conditions there
better.
The summit on Sunday
will see all 28 European leaders meeting with Turkish Prime Minister
Ahmet Davutoğlu to approve and implement an action plan to cope with
the refugee crisis. The deal includes a payment of €3 billion from
the EU to Turkey to help it cope with the huge numbers of Syrian
refugees currently in the country.
If the conclusions
are adopted as drafted on Sunday, EU leaders will also announce that
on December 14 member states could open talks on further economic
integration between the bloc and Turkey.
Another potential
roadblock to the opening of new negotiation chapters is the situation
in Cyprus. The eastern Mediterranean island has blocked Turkey’s
accession talks for several years, citing the presence of Turkish
troops in the breakaway north of the island. Last month the Cyprus
government publicly reiterated its opposition to opening talks on
chapters relating to the rule of law.
The draft statement
from EU leaders, if agreed, holds out the possibility that
preparatory work “could subsequently begin also on further
chapters.” It also says these new chapters could be opened “without
prejudice to the position of member states.”
Regular summits
The document makes
other commitments in exchange for Turkey’s help: on visa
liberalization for Turkish citizens traveling to the EU; on
readmission of illegal migrants that can be returned to Turkey; and
on financial aid in the fight against terrorism. It also promises
regular meetings between EU and Turkish authorities.
The €3 billion in
financial help for Turkey was originally proposed by the European
Commission as part of its action plan on stepping up cooperation with
Ankara on refugees. The draft statement shows that EU leaders will
agree to the amount, but leaves open the question of whether it will
be a one-off payment or whether more money will be needed later on.
It also does not specify whether the funds will come from the EU
budget or from member countries.
“There is not a
consensus on this yet,” said an EU diplomat. “The Commission has
made its proposal but there’s an ongoing discussion on this.”
Under the
Commission’s proposal, even Cyprus would contribute to funds for
Turkey — a point that diplomats said is considered problematic.
Diplomats involved
in pre-summit talks said it was being made clear that Turkey would
have to agree to re-admit illegal migrants if they want to make
progress on the visa liberalization issue. According to the draft
conclusions, the Commission will present its second progress report
on the implementation by Turkey of the visa liberalization roadmap
“by early March 2016.”
If the language is
approved by leaders Sunday, both sides agree “that the EU-Turkey
readmission agreement will become fully applicable from June 2016”
in order for the Commission to be able to present its third progress
report in autumn 2016. The aim is to complete the visa liberalization
process, which means the lifting of visa requirements for Turkish
citizens in the Schengen zone, “by October 2016.”
With the
implementation of the action plan, agreed last month between Brussels
and Ankara, both sides will step up their active cooperation on
migrants who are not in need of international protection, “preventing
travel to Turkey and the EU, ensuring the application of the
established bilateral readmission provisions and swiftly returning”
illegal migrants to their countries of origin.
Both EU and Turkish
leaders will also agree to have “regular summits twice a year,”
according to the draft document, with “regular discussions and
cooperation on foreign and security policy.”
Still under
discussion is the question of whether to invite Turkey to all EU
summits, a practice Europe used to have with countries involved in
accession talks. The sticking point is over whether to invite only
Turkey or also other countries involved in accession processes, an EU
official said.
There’s also
another question regarding Sunday’s summit: over whether Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will take part. Currently only
Davutoğlu is scheduled to come to Brussels, but one diplomat said
Erdoğan “can decide until the last minute and it would be better
to have him here, it would be a further sign of Turkish commitment.”
Authors:
Jacopo Barigazzi
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