Turkey threatens to send Europe ‘15000 refugees a month’

Turkey and the Netherlands are involved in a diplomatic standoff over Dutch authorities’ refusal to let Turkish ministers address Turkish citizens in rallies.

Since then, Erdogan and other Turkish officials have begun calling Dutch government officials “fascists” and “Nazis”.

He accused Europe of failing to help Turkey enter the bloc and of not helping with its fight against terror. The spokesperson further added, “The chancellor has no intention of taking part in a game of provocation”.

The success of the openly pro-Turkey party in the Netherlands may serve as an inspiration to other such movements across Europe.

And on Thursday, the Turkish president accused the EU s top court of starting a “crusade struggle” against Islam after a ruling allowing European firms to ban employees from wearing political or religious symbols – including the Islamic headscarf. He said he couldn’t remember that ever happening in Germany. “An entry ban would be the last resort”. Instead of trying to send back to Turkey asylum seekers and refugees, the European Union should cooperate with Greek authorities to urgently transfer asylum seekers inland and examine their cases. In January, Germany was the No. 1 export destination for Turkey, accounting for 10% of all Turkish exports.

The authoritarian Ankara chief is trying to drum up support amongst expat voters ahead of a referendum on constitutional change which would grant him sweeping new powers. In January, Erdogan said the US founded ISIS and a lawmaker who is part of the president’s party said the Central Intelligence Agency was behind a terrorist attack at an Istanbul nightclub.

Once the current spate of votes in Turkey and Europe is over, the dispute will leave both sides at a historic crossroads to decide on the nature of their future alliance.

It was not clear whether Wednesday’s attack was related to the row with Turkey, which also led to the temporary defacement of numerous small websites in the Netherlands.

According to a survey by German broadcaster ZDF %83 of Germans were against Turkish campaign rallies while only %15 voted in favor of such conventions.

“The problem is: do you want to be a Turkish immigrant, or do you want to be a naturalized Dutch person?” he said.

Cavusoglu’s remarks came at a time when Turkey-EU tensions are running high after several European countries prevented Turkish politicians, including the foreign minister, from holding rallies meant to drum up support for plans to reform Turkey’s democracy from a parliamentary system to an executive presidency similar to the United States.

In a feisty campaign speech in northwest Turkey, Erdogan said the European Union could “forget about” the deal, in which Ankara agreed to readmit migrants that had reached Greece illegally via Turkey – a key transit country for tens of thousands trying to flee fighting and poverty and enter Europe. “What readmission? Forget about it”, he said, referring to the migrant deal. That means it’s a political decision.

Ankara and Brussels nearly a year ago on 18 March signed a landmark deal that has substantially lessened the flow of migrants from Turkey to Europe.