By Laurence Norman in Brussels and Emre Peker in Istanbul
The European Union on Sunday agreed with Turkey's government for
Ankara to take steps to cut the flow of migrants into Europe in
exchange for EU cash and help with its bid to join the 28-nation
bloc.
EU leaders hailed the agreement as a key step toward
substantially reducing the number of asylum seekers entering the
bloc, while Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Sunday's
summit marked a historic new beginning in the often fraught
relations between Brussels and Ankara.
Yet the continued lack of trust on both sides remained evident,
as EU leaders made it clear there would be no shortcut in Turkey's
long-stalled bid to join the bloc. "The issue hasn't changed,"
French President François Hollande said after leaving the summit to
return to Paris for global climate talks. "There is no reason
either to accelerate or to slow it down."
And the Turks couldn't say how effective the agreement would be
in reducing the number of the migrants and refugees entering the EU
via Turkey.
EU officials have said cooperation with Turkey is the best way
to reduce migrant flows, arguing that Ankara was very effective in
previous years in preventing the outflow of refugees from the
country.
Alongside fresh efforts to tighten their external borders, EU
officials hope the Turkey agreement can help turn the tide in the
bloc's migration crisis, the biggest since the aftermath of World
War II.
Under Sunday's agreement, Turkey would increase patrols in the
Aegean Sea and on the land borders with Greece and Bulgaria, as
well as crack down on human-trafficking gangs. Turkey also
agreed--starting next year--to implement an agreement to take back
migrants whose asylum claims are denied by EU countries.
In exchange, EU leaders pledged to provide an "initial" EUR3
billion ($3.19 billion) to Turkey to help it handle the more than
two million refugees in the country. Much of that money would go
directly to groups helping refugees in Turkey or to programs set up
by the Turkish government to house, train and integrate
migrants.
EU leaders also promised to open negotiations on a new chapter
in Turkey's bid to join the bloc--a move likely to be approved on
Dec. 14--and to hold twice-yearly summits with Turkey's leaders.
They pledged to speed work on Ankara's bid to win visa-free access
to the EU for its citizens.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had organized pre-summit talks
on Sunday on a proposal Berlin hopes could see tens of thousands of
Syrian refugees in Turkey come legally to the bloc. Ms. Merkel said
after the summit that discussions were still in their early stages,
but the idea was for a voluntary program in which EU countries
willing to accept migrants can receive and settle an agreed number
of Syrian refugees. "We didn't name a particular figure," Ms.
Merkel said. "I don't think everyone would participate."
Still, it appeared that substantial efforts would be required to
turn Sunday's agreement into reality. European Council President
Donald Tusk said the EU will closely watch Turkey's implementation
of the deal and will review Ankara's actions on a monthly basis. EU
governments are also still at loggerheads over who would pay the
EUR3 billion Turkey is to receive for its cooperation.
Moreover, Turkey must complete dozens of EU requirements to win
a recommendation for visa-free access to the bloc by autumn of
2016. Even then, a final decision will need backing of all 28
member states.
Meanwhile, Mr. Davutoglu acknowledged he couldn't promise the
number of migrants heading into Europe via Turkey would fall.
"Nobody can guarantee a drop," he said of the refugees heading west
from war-torn Syria. "I am sure if we implement our joint action
plan...there will be less pressure on Turkey and the EU."
In recent months, Turkey has become the main crossing point for
refugees from Syria and elsewhere to enter the EU, given the short
sea journey from Turkey to Greece. This year, more than 700,000
migrants have arrived in the EU via Turkey, according to the
International Organization of Migration.
The EU has struggled to cope with the influx of migrants. The
recent terror attacks in Paris and the lockdown in Brussels have
heightened concern about who is crossing Greece's porous border
with Turkey.
Mr. Davutoglu said after the summit that 2016 could be a key
year in Ankara's bid to join the bloc. "Membership is a strategic
objective for us. That's going to speed up again in 2016," he said.
Turkish membership could "be a reality in the coming years."
However, the past decade of negotiations over membership hasn't
been encouraging. In that period, the EU and Turkey have opened
talks on 14 of 35 chapters that must be negotiated for the country
to enter the group. Few EU officials believe the myriad technical
and political hurdles slowing progress in the past are about to
disappear.
Part of Sunday's agreement would require the EU to carry out
preparatory work on five currently blocked chapters during the
first three months of 2016. That would mean talks could
theoretically start on key issues later next year, including
justice, energy, defense and foreign policy.
But in a reminder of the obstacles accession talks will continue
to face, Cyprus, whose government isn't recognized by Ankara,
rejected the mention of those five specific chapters in Sunday's
joint EU-Turkish declaration by the leaders.
Instead, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has
written a side-letter to the Turkish prime minister outlining the
planned work. Ultimately, any of the EU's 28 member states can veto
the opening of a new accession chapter.
While the refugee crisis has strengthened Ankara's hand in
negotiations with Europe, domestic developments in Turkey continue
to cause tensions.
Two prominent Turkish journalists were jailed Thursday, pending
trial, in connection with a report alleging Turkey shipped weapons
to Syrian rebels, an accusation that the government had repeatedly
denied. The arrests of the journalists follow the government's
seizure of opposition media outlets before elections in
November.
Mr. Juncker said after the summit that the EU won't shelve its
criticism of Turkey's human rights record even as Ankara and
Brussels seek to strengthen ties.
Tom Fairless contributed to this article.
Write to Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@wsj.com and Emre
Peker at emre.peker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 29, 2015 18:39 ET (23:39 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.