IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu issued a statement ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Brussels visit and upcoming mini-summit with senior EU officials on 9 March 2020. Indicating that the migration issue has gained prominence following the decision to allow migrants and asylum-seekers pass to Europe, IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu said that the talks to be held between President Erdoğan and his European interlocutors were of key importance for the future of Turkey-EU cooperation. IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu made the following remarks:

“President Erdoğan will meet with the President of the European Council Charles Michel and the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels today. This mini-summit holds great importance for the future of Turkey-EU relations. The continuation of Turkey-EU cooperation on refugees including Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey, as well as the issue of how to revive the stalled relations with the EU will be on the agenda of this mini-summit. Supporting the ceasefire in Idlib, the situation of the civilians and prevention of a new influx of refugees are the main issues which require the EU and Turkey to work together. Turkey and the EU, which are faced with so many common problems, should be in continuous dialogue and should communicate more frequently. As the business community, our main demand as it is known is the modernisation of the Customs Union. Taking a step forward in this area in the near future will provide a lifeline for reviving the relations with the EU.”

Chairman Zeytinoğlu also focused on the refugee influx and stated that the EU should not leave Turkey alone in dealing with this phenomenon:

"Migratory flows from Turkey to the EU have increased following the government’s decision to open the borders. When we look at the migrants heading to the Pazarkule border crossing, who are being blocked by Greece, we see that most of them are of Afghan origin. Turkey is home to more than 3.7 million Syrians, however there are also migrants and asylum-seekers from countries such as Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq. After a certain point, it does not seem possible for Turkey, which hosts the highest number of asylum seekers in world, to carry this burden alone. Many of the migrants aim to go to the EU. Given the fact that Germany spends 30 billion euros annually for 800 thousand refugees, it can be argued that Turkey is carrying EU’s burden by hosting over 3.5 million Syrian refugees. If these refugees had passed to EU countries such as Germany instead of staying in Turkey, this would incur an annual cost of 80-100 billion euros. In this regard, the EU should not leave Turkey alone. It seems that migration will continue to be among the top issues on the agenda of Turkey and the EU in the years to come.”

“Instead of Burying Its Head in the Sand, the EU Should Fulfill Its Responsibilities Regarding Migration”

IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu criticised the EU’s approach indicating that the EU has failed to deliver on its promises outlined in the Turkey-EU Statement of 18 March 2016 and that it was too late in devising a strategy on the continuation of the cooperation on migration. He continued as follows:

"It has been four years since the Turkey-EU Statement was agreed and throughout this period there were significant delays in the flow of financial aid foreseen by the EU. Moreover, there was regress rather than progress in other areas envisaged in the statement. The visa liberalisation process has not been realised although a vast majority of the 72 criteria in the roadmap except for 6 were fulfilled. The talks aimed at the modernisation of the Customs Union could not be launched. The accession negotiations have ground to a halt. The EU has failed to deliver on its promise to resettle 72 thousand Syrians from Turkey into EU Member States. Recently, the EU has adopted conclusions imposing sanctions on Turkey in connection with its hydrocarbon drilling activities. It was stated that the EU stood by the Greek Cypriot Administration because it is a member; however he fact that Turkey is an EU candidate country has been completely disregarded. It is unacceptable for Turkey to be isolated like this and for relations with Turkey to be relegated, given that it is a key country for the EU in areas such as security, migration and energy. I believe that the summit to be held today provides an important opportunity for restoring the relations.”