The European Union's treatment of refugees destroys its credibility

Turkey, in recent times, has staved off a humanitarian disaster in Syria and destroyed major elements of Bashar Al Assad’s forces — without any significant help from the world. That must change now. 

Statements of support won’t cut it in the middle of a rapidly changing crisis. Turkey cannot keep shouldering this responsibility alone, with nothing but broken promises from its allies.

In 2016, the European Union entered into an agreement with Turkey to stem refugee migration through Turkey into Europe. Under the agreement, Europe offloaded the entirety of its refugee burden to Turkey – with Turkey agreeing to host the refugees and prevent their passage onward, in exchange for financial support to help cater to the enormous costs associated. But, even as the numbers of refugees entering Turkey steadily increased, the EU did not uphold its end of the bargain. 

Instead, the EU pledged a paltry 6 billion euros – not a fraction of what it costs to house and care for several million refugees year after year – yet it has dragged its feet in delivering the promised funds. The EU announced today, four years on, that it will finalise the final eight contracts expected to fulfil the monetary end of the deal.

The EU also promised visa-free travel for Turks which hasn’t happened. And they promised to fast-track Turkey’s EU membership – instead, they have frozen its efforts to join the bloc. This shirking of responsibility on the EU’s part, and its litany of broken promises, allowed if not enabled the refugee crisis to fester in the years following 2016. 

The situation in Idlib has changed things, no one disputes that. There are millions of new refugees fleeing what is being distinguished as Assad’s worst mass slaughter to date. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had to find an option that didn’t include leaving them to die in unsafe areas in Syria or attempting to absorb more vulnerable people into Turkey – which is simply beyond capacity.

Meanwhile, Turkey is now engaged in military operations in Idlib to defend the civilian population against Assad’s assault, and its efforts seek to ultimately allow civilians to return and remain in Syria. 

Turkey is the only country willing to put boots on the ground to defend Idlib – the site of a humanitarian catastrophe and the Syrian opposition’s last stronghold. Turkey has done more to undermine Assad's, and his Iranian and Russian backers’, ground and air capabilities in a few weeks than anyone anticipated to be possible throughout this entire, brutal war. And it has come at a terrible price – the loss of dozens of soldiers. 

Within this context, at the end of February, President Erdogan announced that Turkey would no longer prevent refugees from crossing our border into the EU, should it be their wish to seek refuge there. The lion’s share of refugees will still be hosted in Turkey. But it is simply irresponsible to accept more refugees if it is impossible to care for them, and yet in good conscience people cannot be turned back to Syria, to Idlib. 

The only humane choice, therefore, is to step aside, allowing passage. And the EU must finally accept some of the responsibility – a responsibility it has long outsourced.

So far, however, Europe’s response has been more troubling than anyone could have predicted.

Greece, which borders Turkey, responded by firing tear gas and stun grenades at the refugees, and media have reported Greek border agents forcing refugees to strip off their clothes before turning them back. Refugees have died as a result of their interactions with Greek authorities in recent weeks. When EU leaders visited the Greek border in early March, they held a press conference in a town near where Greek police have been using the most brutal tactics against refugees. There, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Greece as Europe’s “shield” in deterring migrants and ignored questions from the United Nations about Greece’s violations of international refugee law.

On Monday, President Erdogan met with the EU to discuss this worsening crisis. The EU, it would appear, has been pushed to action not by its concern for the welfare of refugees or acknowledgement of its responsibility, but rather the fear of those amassing at its borders.

Remarkably, the EU has accused Turkey of using these refugees as pawns in a bargaining effort with the bloc. This isn’t a new line, they’ve made this allegation before. Yet in reality, despite years of failure to live up to promises and obligations – which did indeed compel Turkey to take tough negotiating stances with EU counterparts – President Erdogan never once shirked his duty to the refugee population. He, and he alone, has chosen to continuously provide shelter, medical care, education, training, job opportunities and support to millions of refugees. 

Europe is in need of a bit of self-reflection. World War II was a long time ago and there are great differences, but there are important parallels. 

Syrians today are experiencing the great horrors of our time. They are fleeing those horrors and need compassion and safe harbour. These people are not something to “shield” oneself against, they themselves need shielding. They are not a pox on our houses: they are human beings who have been through the worst dangers and tragedies imaginable, by no fault of their own. And with a twist of fate, it could have been any of us fleeing, pleading for a small act of generosity and a door to open. How can Europe simply send them back? And to where, Europe – to what? How do you see this ending?  

It is time to end the posturing, the nonsense, and the false equivalency comparing Turkey’s act of allowing a relatively small refugee population to travel onward in the direction they want to head, with EU countries greeting these human beings with blunt force and purposeful humiliation. 

Most importantly, it is high time for the EU to live up to the position it claims to hold in the world: as a beacon of human rights and leader in democratic principles.