A Refugee Invasion of Europe? Erdogan Is Bluffing
Turkey isn’t the continent’s gatekeeper, and it has too much to lose by angering the EU.
Not headed to Europe.
Photographer: Delil Souleiman/AFP/Getty Images
On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to “open the gates” to Europe for Syrian refugees temporarily housed in Turkey unless the European Union stops its harsh criticism of his military operation against the Kurds of northern Syria. The threat is not new, though, and Erdogan is no more likely than before to make good on it. Instead, he’ll likely push the refugees in the opposite direction.
In March 2016, Turkey signed a readmission agreement with the EU allowing the Europeans to send any undocumented immigrants arriving from Turkey back to that country. In return, the EU offered 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in aid immediately, and another 3 billion euros by the end of 2018. The deal was a key element in the chaotic but ultimately effective European effort to reduce the influx of asylum seekers from war-torn Syria and other Middle Eastern and African countries.