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By APD writer Aditya Nugraha
BERLIN, Oct. 7 (APD) - Unless the European Union (EU) successful to apply proper ways in tackling illegal migration issue, Germany warned refugee crisis could occur among EU countries that even bigger than in 2015.
“We must do more to help our European partners with controls on the EU external borders. We have left them alone for too long,” German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer was quoted as saying by local media, referring to Greece, Turkey, Spain and Italy.
He added that if Europe fails to find joint strength in solving the illegal migrant problem, the continent could see loss of control to handle the crisis. Giving attention to Turkey, the German minister said that Ankara needs more assistance in dealing with millions of refugees who have been enormously entering the nation since the Syrian war began in 2011. “Turkey is doing a great deal in welcoming refugees. It is also in our interests, but it is clear that we cannot manage the future with the resources of the past,” he said.
He added that in his last visit to Greece and Turkey, he discussed a deal on refugees and border controls. Over one million refugees trying to escape from Middle East and North Africa conflict spots have arrived in EU countries in 2015, showing an unprecedented refugee influx.
Turkey became Europe’s gatekeeper after signing a deal with the EU a year later, aimed at controlling the inflow of refugees into the continent. The agreement ended the influx, bringing the number down to around 30,000 annually in the following years.
Under the agreement, US$6.5 billion was pledged to help Turkey host 3.6 million Syrian refugees, but as of June, only US$2.4 billion had been paid to Ankara. It made Ankara accused Europe of failing to honor its economic pledges. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened last month to “open the gates” if the United States and EU refused to help Ankara with a plan to resettle one million refugees in northern Syria.
EU has stepped up efforts to save the agreement amid a rise in the number of refugee arrivals in the continent. Some 9,000 migrants entered Greece from Turkey in September, bringing the total to more than 40,000 since the start of 2019, according to the United Nations (UN). According to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) at least 15,000 people have lost their lives in Mediterranean crossings since 2014.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
