Matthew karnitschnig, Politico: How Turkey held the EU for ransom
Accepting the Turkish terms on migration raise fears of a dangerous precedent
Shopping in a Turkish bazaar is never wise for the novice.
The EU learned that lesson the hard way when it discovered the carefully crafted refugee deal it believed it had sold to Turkish leaders in the run-up to Monday’s summit turned out to be little more than the beginning of the negotiation.
Turkey made Europe a counter offer early Monday that six months ago would have prompted EU negotiators to get up and walk out. To European eyes, the proposal Ankara put on the table read more like a ransom note: €3 billion in refugee aid in addition to the €3 billion already pledged, full-scale visa liberalization for Turkish citizens in the EU by June, an acceleration of Turkey’s application to join the bloc as well as a pledge to resettle many of the Syrian refugees Turkey takes in.
Turkey’s message to Europe was clear: You need us more than we need you.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: The European leaders were played .... and they are too proud to admit it. They are probably also shock that the golden rule of diplomacy was not respected. Before a meeting and/or summit the main points are always agreed upon .... but it looks like in this case Turkey lied, saying one thing before the run-up to the summit, and saying something else when it started. But in the end this all comes down to Angela Merkel's commitment to having open borders, and not assuming responsibility for the consequences of her actions. And while she hopes that the other members of the EU will join this "deal", I doubt that it is going to happen. Hungary has already vowed to veto the deal, and some of the other members are also reluctant to commit to something that is probably not going to stop the migrant surge for 2016 in the first place. In the meantime, another Turkish news agency has been seized by the government .... Turkish Cihan news agency ‘seized’ by government (RT).
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