EU-Turkey deal fallout

After the EU-Turkey summit on 29 November 2015, Europe’s leaders unveiled a package of measures to encourage Turkey to keep Syrian refugees within their borders, thus stemming the flow into Europe.

€3 billion will be given to Ankara to help meet the cost of hosting refugees and, in what Turkish PM Ahmet Davotoğlu described as an 'historic' occasion, various other EU perks were dangled in front of Turkey, including the prospect of visa-free travel and the resuscitation of Turkey’s moribund EU accession process.

How have Europe’s capitals responded? How is the likelihood of success perceived? And will the reopening of the Turkish membership question come back to haunt EU governments facing a hostile public?

A range of separate features:

+ View from London: Leading on foreign responses by Susi Dennison. London has steered clear of internal EU divisions over burden sharing, but is willing to engage externally on refugee crisis

+ View from Paris: No shortcuts for Turkey by Manuel Lafont Rapnouil. The Summit was viewed as a win for Europe, but concerns linger over Turkish accession in hostile France

+ View from Rome: A step in the right direction but... by Silvia Francescon. Italy wants to look outward to tackle refugee crisis, but there is domestic criticism over Turkey’s role

+ View from Berlin: The limits of outsourcing by Angeliki Dimitriadi. Germany pushed for the Turkey summit, but important questions remain over internal burden sharing.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background Information: International Summit: Meeting of the EU heads of state or government with Turkey, Brussels, 29 November 2015 http://www.europeansources.info/record/international-summit-meeting-of-the-eu-heads-of-state-or-government-with-turkey-brussels-29-november-2015/

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

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