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Today, the 28 EU Heads of State are meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to discuss the “shipping back of irregular migrants” from the EU to Turkey and support to Syrians under temporary protection and their host communities in Turkey.

When I consider the refugee situation in Turkey I get upset at the EU’s reaction to the humanitarian crisis on our own shores. It says a lot about us – a bloc of 28 – that we appear to give little consideration to the weight put on a Turkey – a single state which is already home to the largest refugee population in the world. And it shows that we focus more on pushing aside a “political problem” than supporting human beings fleeing poverty, persecution and war: 65% of people who arrived in Greece come from war-torn countries.

The EU’s call on Turkey to host more refugees and migrants is disproportionate and unfair. Turkey is already accommodating 56% of all Syrian refugees (2,715,789 individuals) while in the EU the total amount of asylum claims was 627,000 in 2014 and 1,221,855 in 2015, according to Eurostat. Whereas countries like Greece – where 126,000 people have arrived by sea in 2016 alone – are bearing the brunt of the EU’s response to the humanitarian crisis, other countries are shirking their responsibilities; for example, last Thursday Romania welcomed its first 15 refugees sent from Greece. I wonder who will have the gall to take the floor today to explain to Mr Davutoglu what he should do to increase the number of refugees his country can host.

The argument that Turkey should be hosting more refugees makes it seem as though EU Heads of State don’t care about the pressure that Turkey is under, and the consequences this has on the living conditions of refugees hosted there. President Tusk’s main message to economic migrants when visiting Greece and Turkey last week was “do not come to Europe”, and that we should start a “fast and large scale mechanism to ship back irregular migrants arriving in Greece”. In this game of political dodgeball, it seems as though our leaders have forgotten that we are playing with the lives of human beings. At least the European Parliament’s Civil Liberties committee followed up its fact-finding visit to Turkey by saying that the situation of 90% of “refugees is highly precarious and they are in urgent need of help, especially in terms of schooling and employment opportunities”. Where is the focus on the wellbeing of refugees coming from the Council and EU Heads of State?

This focus is even more important following the violation of human rights in Turkey last Saturday with the takeover of the largest newspaper by the government. Are our leaders ready to trade human rights for a “solution” to the humanitarian crisis? What will their stand  beregarding the position of the Turkish Prime Minister who stated, “Turkey has the right to question those who take part in a clear coup attempt, whether economic or journalistic, against an elected government. “

If the summit is not used by the EU to step up its role, then it is a dark day for solidarity and respect of human rights in Europe.

Let’s engage,

Pierre Baussand, Director