EU, Turkey reach billion-dollar deal over migration crisis

“Our agreement sets out a clear plan for the timely re-establishment of order at our shared frontier”, EU President Donald Tusk addressed a press conference with Davutoglu.

The French leader said Sunday that any funds of a 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) European Union package to help Turkey deal with the migrants on its territory will be released progressively as Turkish commitments are checked.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the summit a “historic day” and “new beginning”, emphasizing the negotiations as a change for Turkey to possibly enter the EU.

While Britain is not a member of the 26-country Schengen area and will not be open to visa-free travel for Turks next year, David Cameron has pledged €400 million in funding for Turkey’s Syrian refugee camps.

But Cyprus in particular opposes any mention in the final summit statement of plans to open further chapters, European officials said, due to decades of tensions with Turkey on the divided Mediterranean island. Turkey is also supposed to tighten controls on Afghans, Pakistanis and other Asians coming across its borders, some them hoping to reach Europe.

Summit chairman Donald Tusk stressed that the meeting was primarily about migration rather than improving Turkish ties, which have been strained in recent years as Erdogan has used a powerful electoral mandate to consolidate his power.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (C, front) and European leaders pose for family photos at the start of an EU-Turkey Summit in Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 29, 2015.

“Belgium believes Turkey must take its responsibility towards a strategic partnership which is balanced, like border control for example, not just with Europe but also with Syria for example”. Turkey now hosts the highest number of Syrian refugees, at about 2.1 million according to United Nations estimates.

“For now, I think it is a good idea to cooperate with Turkey to keep the refugees in there”, Takis Hadjigeorgiou, a member from the Progressive Party of Working People, said, adding that when circumstances allow, this aid should be applied to the “new Syria with a functioning democracy”.

“I have no intention of agreeing to a blank cheque for Turkey”, Michel said.

“Both sides will, as agreed and with immediate effect, step up their active cooperation on migrants who are not in need of global protection, preventing travel to Turkey and the European Union, ensuring the application of the established bilateral readmission provisions and swiftly returning migrants who are not in need of worldwide protection to their countries of origin”, the draft document said.

The EU also agreed to speed up work on Ankara’s membership bid to the 28-nation bloc and loosen restriction on Turkish visa-free access to the EU.

Britain’s Prime Minster David Cameron says the European Union summit with Turkey in Brussels matters because the migrant crisis in Europe will not be solved without Ankara and that “a comprehensive solution” is needed.

However, as member states face mounting pressure back home to clinch a deal, skepticism was reportedly running high among policymakers in Brussels about striking a deal with Erdoğan, who has been criticized for his human rights record and crackdown on press freedom.