Turkey does not belong in the European Union

At the summit between the European Union and Turkey about the refugee crisis which drags on unabated, the European heads of state and government leaders have not reached an agreement. The talks focused on strengthening European borders and collaboration between the EU and Turkey. The goal is to sharply curb the number of asylum seekers venturing to cross over into Europe. In anticipation of the next European summit on 17 and 18 March, an outline has already been issued. It contains various useful elements to bolster the EU’s own approach, and is now being further refined by European Council President Donald Tusk. At the same time, the text is based on the reality that we currently have no choice but to enter into an agreement with Turkey if we wish to tackle the asylum crisis. “A direct result of the lax EU policy of the past,” European Parliament Member Mark Demesmaeker states. “An agreement can be a step in the right direction to limit the number of asylum seekers, but will not provide a final solution,” his colleague Sander Loones says.

“In the past, European leaders have paid insufficient attention to our European border policy. That is shameful, and we are now suffering the consequences of it: the European Union has become susceptible to blackmail. The Turkish royally abuse this fact, and I am completely fed up with it,” according to Mark Demesmaeker. “But let’s be clear from the start: no government of which N-VA is a part, will ever approve of Turkey becoming a member of the European Union. Whoever displays the traits of dictatorship simply has not merited the prospect of entry. And that is exactly what Ankara is doing: it consistently chooses the authoritarian route of the Middle East, eroding civil liberties at every turn.”

Unseen arrogance

Prior to the European summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu quickly reached a deal. Their plan was to then also clinch the deal with the other European state and government leaders as quickly as possible. “Ms. Merkel’s arrogance continues to astound,” Sander Loones thinks. “She thinks she can determine Europe’s course on her own, and doesn’t even hesitate at circumventing European Council President Donald Tusk. Everything Turkey demands, she blindly accepts. Unseen and unheard-of. Yet she’d be better off having a good long look in the mirror: her policy and that of the weak European leaders in the past landed us in the problems we’re currently facing. They have caused our current dependence on Turkey. We can’t even control our own borders on our own any more.”

Structural solution

Meanwhile, the structural solution is obvious to the N-VA: “We must seal the routes to Western Europe, focus entirely on shelter in the own region and apply a strong push-back policy. We must also apply strict limits and thus impose strict quotas on the influx.”

“This is not worth repeating,” Sander Loones concludes. “We must do all we can to ensure that the EU can take care of its own business again, and does not continue to be dependent on countries like Turkey.”