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Turkey tells EU visa-free travel ’vital’ to the success of migrant deal

GAZIANTEP –  Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told German Chancellor Angela Merkel and top EU officials on Saturday that gaining visa-free travel for Turkish citizens was “vital” to the success of a crucial migrant deal.
“The issue of the visa waiver is vital for Turkey,” he said at a joint press conference with Merkel, European Council head Donald Tusk and European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans.
Turkey ’best example on how to treat refugees’

European Council head Donald Tusk heaped high praise on Turkey for its reception of Syrian refugees on Saturday, saying the country served as “the best example” in the world on caring for those fleeing war.
“Today Turkey is the best example for the whole world (on) how we should treat refugees,” he said at a press conference following a visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to a refugee centre in the country.
“This is not only a political and formal assessment… this is also my very private and personal feeling,” he said.
 

 

Angela Merkel , Donald Tusk and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visit children at a preschool, during a visit to a refugee camp in Gaziantep

 

 

EU to spend 1 bln euros to help Syrian migrants
The European Union (EU) would spend one billion euros (about 1.12 billion U.S. dollars) by July for projects aiming to improve the living condition of Syrian migrants in Turkey, EU Deputy Commissioner Frans Timmermans said Saturday.
After visiting Nizip 1 camp and child protection center in Turkey’s southeastern Gaziantep province bordering Syria, Timmermans said the biggest challenge is the education of Syrians, hailing Turkey’s efforts as the “best example” on how refugees should be treated.

 

Merkel visited Syrian refugees
 

 

 

 

Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited a refugee camp on the Turkish-Syrian border, kicking off a high-stakes visit aimed at boosting a month-old migrant deal plagued by moral and legal concerns.
Merkel, joined by European Council head Donald Tusk and European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans, headed to the Nizip 2 camp near Gaziantep after touching down in the country’s south-east.
“Welcome to Turkey, the world’s largest refugee hosting country,” read a huge banner hanging over the entrance to the camp, which hosts some 5,000 people, including 1,900 children, in row upon row of white and beige prefabricated houses.
 

 

 

 

The aim of the visit is to promote the six-billion-euro ($6.7 billion) deal to return migrants arriving on Greek shores to Turkey, which has come under fire from rights groups, the UN refugee agency and some EU leaders.
The European leaders are keen to show how funds are helping Turkey improve conditions for the 2.7 million refugees the country is hosting — though critics have pointed out the majority live in poverty far from the official camps.
Security for the visit was high: the delegation arrived at the camp on a coach with snipers on the roof. Police had earlier arrested six people suspected of links to the Islamic State group accused of plotting an attack.
Merkel met some of the camp’s younger residents as she inaugurated an EU-funded child protection centre, bending to praise the drawings of several children armed with colouring pencils in a brightly-decorated classroom, before receiving presents and kisses from other youngsters.

 

Fraught ties

 

Ties between Germany and Turkey are strained following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s warning that the deal to curb the migrant flow to Europe would fall through if the EU did not keep up its end of the bargain by allowing visa-free travel for Turkish citizens.
The bloc promised to present a visa recommendation on May 4 if Ankara complies with its side of the accord, but there has been growing unease in Europe over fears that security concerns are being fudged to fast-track Turkey’s application.
US President Barack Obama on Saturday hailed Merkel’s “courageous” leadership in handling the Syrian refugee crisis.
The success of the deal, which has sharply reduced the number of people crossing from Turkey to Greece, was also called into question, with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) saying the numbers were “once again ticking up”.
Merkel had said the Turkey visit was a chance to take stock of the implementation of the migrant deal and discuss the next steps, as well as evaluate conditions on the ground for those who have fled the devastating five-year war in Syria.

 

Source: News Agencies, 24 April 2016

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