The European Parliament on Thursday called for a temporary suspension of accession talks with Turkey prompting concerns in Greece over the viability of the refugee deal which ensured Erdogan’s government stemmed the flow of illegal immigrants and people smuggling networks.
The biggest fear for Greece is that now Turkey will react to the EU motion by remaining idle, prompting a new influx of migrants into the EU via Greece.
The EU motion which is non-binding and would require the approval of the European Commission and national governments, was a response to Turkey’s “disproportionate” reaction to the failed Turkish coup in July where more than 50,000 civil servants, academics, journalists and civilians were arrested without due process. So far only Austria and Luxembourg have officially asked for the freezing of accession talks.
This all comes at a volatile time for Greek-Turkish relations after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan questioned the Treaty of Lausanne in relation to the sovereignty of certain Greek islands, a movie that was critised on Thursday by Manfred Weber, who appealed to Erdogan “not to use this language anymore.”
There was also concern Thursday over an inflammatory suggestion put forth last Sunday by a senior adviser to Erdogan for the annexation of the northern part of Cyprus. His remarks came just two days before the breakdown of United Nations-backed reunification talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriots in the Swiss resort of Mont Pelerin. Speaking to A Haber news channel, Yigit Bulut said the reunification of the island and “its surrender to the EU will mark the end to the notions of Turkism and Islam in the region.” He also said Turkish citizens would need a visa to visit the Turkish-occupied north in case of a deal. “[Under these circumstances] do we hand over Cyprus to the EU and then plead for Schengen validation? This is an assassination,” Bulut argued, before adding that if the north did not wish to go on under its current regime, “it will turn into a Turkish province and carry on in that way.”
Meanwhile, Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci are to meet separately with the UN special adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, on Monday to discuss whether there is scope for the resumption of talks.
