Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) after completing his official visit to Poland, Şentop said that there are two dimensions to the ongoing migrant crisis on the Poland-Belarus border.

Underlining that the issue of migration is an important global problem, he said: “Turkey has already been hosting around 5 million immigrants for 10 years. Turkey is the country that has the biggest problem with irregular migration in the world. But we think that this is a global problem that concerns not only certain countries, not only neighboring countries on the migration route, but also the whole world.”

Saying that everyone should assume their responsibilities regarding this issue, Şentop added: “We have expressed all these at international meetings. It would be beneficial to come together to produce some solutions regarding this. For years, the problem in Turkey will come to the agenda of other countries in some way today or tomorrow.”

For weeks, thousands of people seeking a new life in the European Union have been stranded at the bloc’s external border with Belarus. The EU accuses Minsk of pushing or transporting migrants from countries like Iraq to its frontiers in revenge for Western sanctions. Minsk refutes this.

Poland, where most migrants have arrived, has already halted asylum claims at legal entry points and has been accused of pushing people back into Belarus against international law.

He also pointed to the humanitarian dimension of the issue saying: “It is necessary to adopt an approach that will preserve the minimum human rights of people who have been forced to migrate because they are unable to live in their own lands in one way or another. In winter conditions, women and children should be treated humanely.

“It is also wrong for countries to keep the problems among themselves on the agenda by using immigrants as a tool, and to try to solve them somehow. That’s why we supported Poland. As soon as we learned that some airports from Turkey regarding the transfer of these immigrants were used within this plan, necessary precautions were taken. As Turkey, we refused to be an instrument of such a plan. We have taken every necessary precaution step by step.”

Ankara last month banned citizens of three Middle Eastern countries from flying from Turkish airports to the former Soviet republic because of “the problem of illegal border crossings between the European Union and Belarus.”

The decision came days after European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen raised the possibility of imposing sanctions on airlines that engage in “human trafficking.” Turkish Airlines (THY) provides one of the most heavily used international links to the Belarusian capital Minsk. Turkey’s announcement was met with relief by European officials at a time of lingering strains in Ankara’s relations with Brussels.

Turkey is home to up to 5 million refugees and migrants – most of them from war-scarred Syria – and remains one of the preferred routes for migrants and refugees to enter Europe. The number of migrants passing through Turkey has ticked back up after falling off sharply in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic.

Calling international actors, specifically European countries, to band together and determine a road map on the issue of migration and not to let the responsibility fall on the shoulders of certain countries, Şentop said: “The whole world is responsible for this, and some countries are even more responsible; because it is the policies of some big countries that make those countries uninhabitable. Therefore, they have to take responsibility for the problem they cause. Otherwise, we may encounter more serious problems that will put the whole world in trouble in the coming years.”

Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/eu-affairs/european-actors-must-take-responsibility-in-migrant-crisis-sentop

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The swift takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and an upcoming final August 31st deadline for all NATO troops to leave the has triggered panic among European politicians about the possibility of a new refugee emergency — especially in countries that are facing elections in the coming months, such as Germany and France.

Candidates for high offices have been quick to reassure voters that 2021 won’t be a repeat of 2015, when more than a million Syrian and Afghan refugees streamed into Europe and caused one of the most serious challenges that the EU has faced in recent times.

“The mistakes made in the Syrian civil war must not be made again,” promised Armin Laschet, the leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. He was echoed by Merkel herself and the chancellor candidate for the Social Democratic Party, Olaf Scholz.

Never Again

Both have stressed that it is Afghanistan’s neighboring countries that now need support to deal with the challenge.

French President Emmanuel Macron was even blunter, stating in a televised address that France should have a robust plan to “anticipate and protect itself from a wave of migrants (….)”, adding that “ dealing with those fleeing the Taliban would need a fair and organized international effort.”

Greece has gone further by installing a 25 mile long fence along its borders. Most of the criticism directed at the U.S. president by European partners seems to be caused by the fear that it is they who will have to deal with the destabilizing consequences of a humanitarian crisis provoked by the sudden collapse of the pro-western government in Kabul.

Events in Afghanistan have exposed how six years after the events of 2015 there is still a lack of a clear EU framework for dealing with large inflows of migrants: How to process and, most importantly, distribute refugees still very much depends on the willingness of individual EU member countries to accept them on their territory.

A Need for a Framework

The so-called Dublin EU framework that put most of the onus on first entry countries has not been replaced by anything new and durable. The EU beefed up its border police force Frontex and financially supported countries, such as Turkey and Libya, in return for their efforts to keep refugees away from Europe. But this approach was always supposed to buy time — not become the only pillar of a shaky immigration framework.

The conflict in Afghanistan has once again revealed the brittleness of Europe’s patchwork of migration policies.

 

The absence of any new ways of dealing with non-EU immigrants has forced the EU and its leaders to resort to the same imperfect tools employed in the wake of the last crisis. Just like in 2015, Merkel spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — although both Ankara and Berlin deny that the possibility of a new deal was discussed or even mentioned. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi is pushing to get the G20 involved by including China, India and Russia into any efforts to deal with the aftermath of the Taliban takeover.

The EU is discussing funding schemes for Afghanistan’s neighboring countries. While critics have pointed out that the EU is unnecessarily putting itself in the position of being blackmailed by potential recipients of financial aid, the aim of the exercise is clear: Once evacuation efforts are concluded, don’t expect EU countries to welcome many more refugees.

Numbers of those currently entitled to resettle in western countries vary — no overall official figures are available, but based on promises made by individual governments it is safe to assume around 100,000. However, these numbers pale when compared to those of the United Nations’ refugees organization. According to the UNHCR, there are currently 3.5 million internally displaced people in Afghanistan.

Worldwide, there are currently around 2.5 million registered Afghan refugees. Notably, most of them — 2.2 million — are in neighboring Pakistan, not in Europe. It is in fact unclear whether the current crisis will necessarily result in a dramatic increase in refugee flows from Afghanistan toward Europe. The countries that will likely continue to bear the brunt of the humanitarian cost of the war are Pakistan and Iran. The potential corridors for refugee flows from Afghanistan toward Europe are currently largely choked off.

Also, the Taliban themselves seem to be determined to stop migrant outflows, at least for the time being. They seem to have concluded they can ill afford to bleed expertise when what they need are Afghans with some experience of running a bureaucracy.  Much of course depends on how much and quickly the Taliban will alienate Afghan civilians — and whether a bloody civil war can be avoided.

Engaging with the Taliban?

Once the current visible turmoil subsides — and western witnesses have left the scene — EU governments will likely try to engage with the Taliban directly to address a possible migration emergency. Merkel obliquely hinted at this before the Bundestag on August 25th when she declared that unfortunately one had to accept that the Taliban are now in charge. But much of this tentatively emerging approach of careful engagement is largely based on hope rather than sound policy.

The situation in Afghanistan has once again revealed the brittleness of Europe’s patchwork of migration policies. The country could represent a new wake up call or recede in politicians’ minds if the worst can be avoided. Unfortunately, geopolitical instability is here to stay, and will be further fueled by the impact of climate change on vulnerable societies.

As a result, migration flows will likely continue to increase, further exposing the lack of a coherent European strategy to deal with the crisis at hand.

Source: https://www.brinknews.com/is-europe-facing-a-new-migrant-crisis/

The post Is Europe Facing a New Migrant Crisis? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

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Italy – the entry point for thousands of migrants, mainly from Africa – had threatened to veto the conclusions of the entire agenda if it did not receive help on the issue.

In a compromise, new migrant centres are to be set up in EU countries on a “voluntary” basis.

They would determine who are “irregular migrants, who will be returned”.

The relocation and resettlement of genuine refugees would also take place on a voluntary basis, the agreement says.

However, it was unclear which countries would host the centres or receive refugees.

The joint communique also speaks of restricting the movement of asylum seekers between EU states.

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“After this European summit, Europe is more responsible and offers more solidarity,” said Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. “Today Italy is no longer alone.”

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel said more needed to be done to resolve disagreements.

What has been agreed?

In addition to the migrant processing centres, hosted by EU members on a voluntary basis, the 28 EU leaders also agreed several other measures:

• strengthening external border controls, and boosting financing for Turkey and countries in North Africa
• exploring the possibility of “regional disembarkation platforms”, which are aimed at breaking the business model of people-smuggling gangs by processing refugees and migrants outside the EU. However getting North African countries to host such centres could be very difficult and Morocco again on Thursday rejected the idea
• internal measures taken by member states to stop migrants moving within the EU, which the agreement said undermined asylum policy and the border-free Schengen travel area
• boosting efforts to “prevent the development of new sea or land routes” into Europe
• more investment in Africa to hep the continent achieve a “substantial socio-economic transformation” so people no longer leave for a better life
• Further work to reform EU asylum policy, including changes to the so-called Dublin regulation under which migrants must be considered for asylum in the first safe country where they arrive

Whose needs does the deal meet?

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte had earlier taken the rare step of blocking the conclusions of the joint communique until the leaders had settled the migration issue. Both Italy and Greece want other countries to share the burden.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had said that the migration issue could be a defining moment for the EU – but she also needed the summit to avert a political crisis at home that could bring down her government.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, from her Bavarian coalition partner, the CSU, had given her a deadline of this weekend. He has threatened to start turning away migrants who have already registered elsewhere from the border in his home state.

Without the CSU, Mrs Merkel would lose her parliamentary majority.

It is unclear whether the measures agreed will be enough, and speaking to reporters at 05:00 local time (03:00 GMT), she acknowledged the EU still had “a lot of work to do to bridge the different views”.

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The bloc is deeply divided over the migration issue, with several Central European states rejecting an EU scheme to relocate 160,000 refugees from overcrowded camps in Greece and Italy.

How many migrants are entering the EU?

The flows of people include refugees fleeing the Syrian war and other conflicts, urgently seeking asylum.

It is not a crisis on the scale of 2015, when thousands were coming ashore daily on the Greek islands. The European Council – the EU’s strategic leadership – says the numbers illegally entering the EU have dropped 96% since their peak in October 2015.

But this month’s tensions over migrant rescue ships barred from entry to Italian ports – most recently the German charity ship Lifeline – have put the issue firmly back in the EU spotlight.

The Lifeline was only allowed to dock in Malta after intense diplomacy among several EU states, who each agreed to take some of the migrants on board. Malta said that Norway had now also agreed to take a share.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44652846

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