EU Refugeee Crises: World Refugee Day: which images make you stop and think?

The number of people displaced worldwide has hit a new record, with 65.3 million people forced from their home as of the end of 2015, the UN said on Monday.

"This is the first time that the threshold of 60 million has been crossed," the UN refugee agency said.

The figures, released on World Refugee Day, underscore twin pressures fuelling an unprecedented global displacement crisis.

Read more: World Refugee Day: which images make you stop and think?

EU Refugee Crises: Merkel’s Austria Problem, Merkel’s Turkey Problem - by Judy Dempsey

Austria and Turkey have two things in common. Both are undergoing major political changes. And both are needed by Angela Merkel to stem the flow of migrants and refugees wanting to reach Germany. The political shifts in both countries do not augur well for the German chancellor.

In Austria, society has become deeply polarized, as the presidential election that took place on April 24 and May 22 confirmed. Immediately after the second-round runoff, Norbert Hofer, who represents the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria, was running neck and neck with Alexander Van der Bellen, a former Green party leader. The result was decided by postal votes: Van der Bellen squeaked through.

The outcome matters for Merkel and for Europe. Although Hofer lost, his wide appeal—and his ability to push the established conservative Austrian People’s Party and center-left Social Democrats out of the presidential race—has shaken Austria’s comfortable postwar consensus.

The traditional political elites were so taken aback by Hofer’s dramatic rise that the Social Democrats’ Werner Faymann was forced to resign as Austria’s chancellor on May 9.

Faymann had forged a close relationship with Merkel and had cooperated with her at the height of the refugee crisis. But the Freedom Party was able to tap into the growing fears and anxieties of a country that was taking in many refugees from the Middle East. As a result, Faymann, with the agreement of governments in the Western Balkans, closed off the route through that region used by refugees. Yet that wasn’t enough to save his political career, as the presidential campaign showed.

Read more: Merkel’s Austria Problem, Merkel’s Turkey Problem - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The Netherlands - Turkey's Erdogan does not seem to understand that it takes two to tango

In the Netherlands there is major concern in political opposition circles and the general Public about the Governments very soft stance towards Turkey, when it comes to the issue of the intimidation tactics being used by the Turkish AKP party and their government entities operating in the Netherlands.

Among these issues is a so-called "klik lijn" whereby Turkish/Dutch residents can report any negative comments about Turkey or its leader Erdogan to pro -Erdogan organizations in the Netherlands, or even to the embassy.

Pro-Erdogan organizations in the Netherlands are not only receiving funding from Turkey but some even receiving Dutch government subsidies.

On top of that Mr Erdogan is even threatening the EU, that if Turkey does not become part of the Shengen treaty, because of what he calls "unreasonable demands", as to the freedom of expression,he will release "hordes of Syrian Immigrants" into the EU.

As a member of the opposition in the Dutch parliament said: "This approach used by Mr. Erdogan, in dealing with the issue of refugees can only be qualified as blackmail, and Mr. Erdogan should be made to understand that in order for this Refugee deal between Turkey and  the EU to work, it will take two to tango."

EU-Digest

Turkey: Clearing customs - "but we also come with heavy bagage"

"We were also paid €6 billion to change our flag"

Serhan Turkoglu stands outside one of Istanbul’s many visa-application bureaus, clutching his flight and hotel bookings, travel insurance, proof of employment, social-security registration, recent salary slips and bank statements, and a vehicle licence. Mr Turkoglu, an accountant, needs all of this simply to secure a holiday visa to Spain. For his next European holiday he will have to go through the whole rigmarole again. “It makes you feel like a second-class citizen,” he says.

Turkish diplomacy towards the European Union is focused on obtaining visa-free travel. It is easy to see why. Turkey has been negotiating to accede to the EU for more than a decade; it is the only candidate country whose citizens still need visas to enter the bloc’s Schengen area. Peruvians, Malaysians and Mexicans, by contrast, no longer need visas to travel there.

Europe’s panic in the face of mass migration from the Middle East has provided Turkey with a new opening. In March, in exchange for a pledge to re-admit thousands of migrants deported from Greece, the EU offered Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country’s president, €6 billion ($6.8 billion) in aid, progress in the moribund membership talks and visa-free travel for his people by June.

To qualify, Turkey must meet 72 benchmarks by late April, from biometric passports to better data-protection. Turkey’s prime minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, claims that his country already meets most of the conditions. But the EU says much more needs to be done. “The criteria will not be watered down,” insists the European Commission’s president, Jean-Claude Juncker.

In fact, it is hard to see how Turkey could meet the political conditions for visa liberaliation. These include bringing its terrorism laws into line with the EU’s, and guaranteeing the rights to assembly and free speech. But for quite some time, Turkey has been restricting political activity and going in the wrong direction on human rights.

The government is prosecuting a group of academics on terrorism charges, after they signed a petition to end a crackdown against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that has raged in Turkey’s south-east since last year. Two journalists face life in prison for reporting on covert arms shipments to Syria.

Last week a Dutch columnist was detained and barred from leaving the country pending trial; her offence was a profane tweet and an article calling Mr Erdogan a “dictator”.

If the commission agrees that Turkey meets the benchmarks, on May 4th it will recommend that the EU’s 28 governments (as well as the European Parliament), approve visa-free travel for Turkey. In theory this could be done by a qualified-majority vote; in practice, rejection by a large country would torpedo the deal. Far-right anti-Muslim parties are surging in many parts of the continent.

With Marine Le Pen looking stronger in the run-up to France’s presidential election in 2017, notes Marc Pierini, a former EU envoy to Turkey, “France cannot afford to vote yes” to visa-free travel.

Turkish officials warn of a diplomatic train crash if they do not get their way. The first victim would be Europe’s migrant deal. “If the EU does not keep its word, we will cancel the readmission agreement,” the country’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said recently.

Note EU-Digest: If Turkey cancels the agreement because of Europe's democratic election system, respect of human rights, and freedom of expression - one can only say - "Mr Erdogan -  it takes two to Tango, and if you want to shoot yourself in your foot, be our guest".


Read more: Clearing customs | The Economist

Refugee Crises: EU maritime agency gets ready to use drones to monitor refugee boats – Catherine Stupp

European drones patrolling Agean Sea and Med

The director of the EU maritime safety agency said civil drones are most needed to monitor hotspots and detect refugees arriving to Europe by boat.

“If we look at where the so-called hotspots are in the migration issue, we don’t have the tools to monitor small boats at the moment in all areas,” Markku Mylly, executive director of the agency (EMSA), told EurActiv.com. 

“This is maybe the most acute area for drone use,” he added.

EU agencies are slated to start using drones, or remotely piloted aircraft systems, for search and rescue missions later this year.

In a new plan to save the Schengen area published last Friday (4 March), the European Commission called for a European coastguard to be fully operational by September. 

The EU executive proposed setting up a coastguard in December. Under that draft bill, EMSA will gain new powers to join the coastguard in monitoring the Mediterranean with drones.

Read more: EU maritime agency gets ready to use drones to monitor refugee boats – EurActiv.com

Refugee Crises: EU leaders finalize migration proposal

European leaders have agreed on a deal to curb the flow of migrants into the EU. The plan will be presented to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday. Here's what you need to know about the summit so far:

-Earlier Thursday, many EU leaders expressed skepticism about various elements of the deal, including the visa liberalization plans for Turkey, which would allow visa-free travel for Turkey's more than 75 million citizens within the EU

-On the table: Turkey has offered to take back all migrants who have arrived illegally in Greece by crossing the Aegean Sea. In exchange, Turkey has requested a total of 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in aid from the EU, on top of rapid visa liberalization and the acceleration of EU accession talks

-Human rights organizations have criticized the deal for undermining the right to asylum, breaching international and EU law

-Speaking to reporters at the airport before leaving for Brussels, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he saw "some difficulties within the EU ... in fulfilling these terms [in Turkey's proposal]." He warned that Turkey would not accept any deal which turned his country into an "open prison" for migrants

-Davutoglu will join EU leaders for breakfast on Friday to continue the talks - and possibly for lunch and dinner as well

Read more: EU leaders finalize migration proposal | News | DW.COM | 17.03.2016

EU Refugee Crises:‘Criminal refugee smuggling enormous business-bigger than guns & drugs", says Czech defense minister

Where is the NATO promised support to stop this?

The business of smuggling illegal migrants to Europe far exceeds the volume of black market trade of drugs and weapons in the EU, said the Czech Defense Minister, who has “no illusions” of Turkey or Greece’s ability to curb illegal smuggling networks.

“The size of criminal business involving the transport of illegal migrants to Europe is enormous, it exceeds the turnover from the sale of drugs and weapons, making – without exaggeration – billions of EUROS,” said Martin Stropnicky.

The EU border agency Frontex estimates that people-smuggling networks made more than €4 billion ($4.45bn) from their criminal activities last year, with the biggest piece of the pie stemming from smuggling migrants.

That profit is further used to support the illicit drugs and weapons trade.

As over 1.83 million people made it into the European Union in 2015, according to Frontex, Stropnicky expressed doubts about Turkey’s and Greece’s ability to halt or at least deal with the bursting numbers of migrants.

He said that recent statics show that illegal migrant crossings are reaching 5,000 people a day, and this is before the start of the summer season when the waters of the Mediterranean get warmer. More than 870,000 migrants arrived on the Greek islands in 2015 using the so-called Eastern Mediterranean route alone.

Multiple “efficiently” organized smuggling networks operate along the route that smuggle people into Greece via the sea crossing though the Aegean, where the distance between the Turkish coast and Greek islands is as little as 4 nautical miles (7.5 km). These networks which are organized through the use of the social media make a large portion of their profit by selling illegal documents to those fleeing the conflict zones.

“In addition to organizing the sea crossing, smugglers give the migrants information about the asylum processes in different EU member states and sell them forged documents. The highest demand is for Syrian passports, identification cards, birth certificates and residence permits,” Frontex claims.

The Czech Defense Minister also criticized Brussels’ ineffectiveness in coming up with a viable solution to limit the flow of migrants to its borders, echoing the Czech Republic’s president who has earlier criticized EU’s initiative to station some 1,500 border guards at the bloc's gate as laughable.

“I do not see 1,500 European police officers [on southern EU borders], I do not see new reception and identification centers agreed on at previous EU summits,” the defense minister said commenting on the latest EU meeting in Brussels where the bloc’s leaders debated Brexit alongside refugee crisis.

The minister further rejected the European Union’s pondering of "Plan B" which is to close the Balkan borders if necessary.

Despite efforts by European leaders to stem the flow of refugees arriving in Europe, the number of new arrivals has seen an increase in 2016. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more asylum seekers arrived in Europe by boat during the first six weeks of this year than during the first four months of 2015.

Note EU-Digest: It's high time something serious gets done to stop these criminal smuggling activities and curb the flow of refugees.  

What is happening to the earlier agreed on NATO navy support. This is a unique opportunity for NATO to get involved in a far more productive and useful activity than they have done so far.

Read more: ‘Enormous business’: Criminal refugee smuggling bigger than guns & drugs – Czech defense minister — RT News

EU Refugee crisis: 'Economic migrants' and asylum seekers are coming to Europe for the same reasons, report says - by Lizzie Dearden

Despite the British Government's efforts to distinguish between “genuine” refugees and economic migrants, a report has found that the motivations for both groups to risk their lives in desperate attempts to reach Europe are often very similar.

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) , a UK-based independent think tank urged European leaders to develop a broader understanding of what causes people to migrate in order to respond to the current crisis.

Its Why People Move report said: “The evidence reveals that the asylum-seekers and economic migrants often have similar reasons for choosing to make the dangerous journey to Europe and one person may fall into both of these categories at the same time.

Read more: Refugee crisis: 'Economic migrants' and asylum seekers are coming to Europe for the same reasons, report says | Europe | News | The Independent