The Last Bit of Integrity
Cornelia Ernst, spokesperson of DIE LINKE delegation to the European Parliament, comments the EU Council Summit and the completed deal with Turkey:
„After this agreement with the government in Ankara the heads of the EU hand over their last bit of integrity. The barter negotiated with Recep Tayyib Erdogan and Ahmet Davutoglu is at the same time violating international, Turkish, and Greek law.
Furthermore, this deal is far from reality: Greece, wrestled down during the Euro crisis, has neither the logistical, nor the administrative means to implement these immoral plans, while Turkey does not completely implement the Geneva Refugee Convention.
Within the EU once again Greece is expected to pay for the insolidarity of the governments of the other EU member states. Outside of the EU the millions of flying people and the political fight for human rights will now pay an even higher price than they already do.
Regarding the agreements reached today first of all it needs to show how far the concerned states are able to abide by them. One thing is clear: The commitment of the EU to admit 72.000 peole from Turkey and distribute them within the member states – on a voluntary basis! - is a cynical insolence in view of the currently 2.7 million refugees in Turkey!
Those 72.000 people may furthermore originate only from Syria. Refugees from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, Yemen, or Sudan are excluded from the beginning. The same applies to Kurds, Romani, as well as Armenians. All three ethnicities are big minorites in Turkey, being exposed to increasing repressions from the Erdogan government.Today's decision acknowledges to out-manoeuvre those people.
Neither the dealing with the reasons for flight was issue to the negotiations nor the Syrian conflict or the situation in the Southeast of Turkey. Such a basis will lead to the heads of the EU governments to soon meet again in Brussels to negotiate about the common defence from people on the move. Then, however, they will have to do so with Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and King Mohammend the VI, the heads of state of Egypt and Marocco. They would be good company in the continuous dismantling of human rights anyway. Today's council agreement is a historical shame.“