Nato’s new migrant mission in the Aegean is a victory for Turkey and proof of Europe’s strategic irrelevance

A plan to deploy Nato ships in the Aegean sea to tackle people smugglers operating between Turkey and Greece was agreed in early February 2016. Angelos Chryssogelos writes that the new mission will do little to influence the dynamics of the migration crisis, with effective management of the problem still reliant on Turkish cooperation. He also argues that by signing up to the Turkish demand to make Nato the main arena for deliberations over the crisis, Europe’s interests are now in danger of being entangled with Turkey’s agenda in Syria.

ESO: Background information: NATO Defence Ministers Agree on NATO support to assist with the Refugee and Migrant Crisis http://www.europeansources.info/record/nato-defence-ministers-agree-on-nato-support-to-assist-with-the-refugee-and-migrant-crisis/

ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

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