Quelle: LeftEast
by Matthias Fiedler
Turkey’s border with Syria is not the only border region in the country where people are dying[1]. Along the so-called “green border” of the European Union the last few years have witnessed a rising tide of migrants forced back into Turkey, mostly by European police forces. Today, Europe’s politicians are using Turkey as a gatekeeper. This is an old strategy, and has been ineffective so far. Europe has not been putting up the funds needed to enforce it, even if the EU has been investing in Turkish border technologies and camp facilities for some time. To understand the recent developments and their possible effect on the future, it is important to review the practice now used by the EU. Parts of the policy concept were developed by the European Stability Initiative (ESI) and introduced as the “Merkel Plan“[2]. The recent progress of the agreement has cemented the power of the Justice and Development Party (AKP)-government before the stunned eyes of its domestic opposition—even before the recent elections in Turkey were held or even before it was signed.
