Germany has begun border checks as part of its measures against illegal immigration. While it is being discussed that the implementation, which is announced to last six months, is against the spirit of the EU border agreement Schengen, eyes have once again turned to Turkey in the fight against illegal immigration. Austrian analyst and President of the European Stability Initiative Gerald Knaus emphasized the importance of Turkey for European border security. There is currently discussion in Brussels about making changes to the refugee legislation of the European Union. It is stated that the two countries that are most emphasized on this issue are Greece and Türkiye.
TURKEY’S ROLE
While it is stated that there are efforts to make a similar migration agreement with other countries to the one signed between the European Union and Turkey in 2016, this situation is being considered as a model in the discussion of “safe third countries”. According to Politico writer Nektaria Stamouli, Gerald Knaus emphasizes that the 2016-2019 period was the only period in which there was a decrease in migration flow, underlining the importance of Turkey. Nektaria Stamouli quotes the following words of Gerald Knaus regarding the solution: “The only way to prevent Schengen from collapsing and giving way to real pressure on EU law is through new cooperation with Türkiye or other third countries.“
RETURN FORMULA
However, according to Knaus, the policy demanded by the opposition Christian Democratic Party in Germany of “sending everyone who arrives at the German border back to the European countries they came from” does not seem easy to implement. Knaus described this situation as “YAs everyone in Greece and Southeastern Europe knows, closing borders is not easy. Third countries you plan to send to may not accept it” he explains.
OPPOSITION PRESSURE
Knaus explains the situation in Germany as follows: “The stance of the German opposition put enormous pressure on the government. The government responded by imposing checks at all borders. However, this measure was a rather pointless measure, as there were already border controls with countries from which there was a migration flow to Germany. “The government has made an impractical offer. The opposition’s arguments have provided the far-right with an excellent electoral agenda.”
EU LAW VIOLATED
Knaus, who noted that the migration agreement that EU member states accepted last spring also misdiagnosed the problem, stated that the agreement was rendered unworkable from the very beginning. Knaus assessed the practice put into effect by Germany as “a violation of EU law without any consequences.” Giving examples from other EU countries, Knaus said,Hungary has already abolished asylum, Poland has legalised repatriation to Belarus and Finland is discussing repatriation to Russia. “How will building detention centers and asylum reception centers on the EU border solve the problem? Because after we process the applications, people will be here. I fear that failure to deal with migration could become an existential crisis for the EU.” he said.
Knife attacks by migrants in Germany in recent months have raised tensions in the country. It is stated that the gains of both the far-right and the far-left in the eastern states have caused alarm bells to ring for the government, and it is commented that the border control decision is a precaution against the far-right AFD in particular.
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