Last week, Brussels pledged up to $3.4 billion in aid, simplified visa protocols and accelerated EU ascension procedures for Turkey in return for Ankara's promise to help stop the refugee flow to Europe.
“A future Turkish EU membership is a separate issue from migration because there are rules concerning candidate states and those rules cannot be overthrown in the name of an emergency, whatever its nature may be,” Kostas Chrysogonos said.
Also he stated that the outlook for Turkey’s membership in the European Union is as bleak as the country, which is currently sliding into authoritarianism, and would first require a radical political and social transformation.
“Turkey would need a radical transformation in order to become a member of the EU and such a thing is not in sight,” Kostas Chrysogonos said, adding that the country fails to meet accession criteria according to EU law including a respect of the fundamental rights and democratic principles of its citizens, among other requirements.
“Even worse, Turkey seems to be sliding towards becoming an authoritarian state and it continues violating European and international law through the continuing military occupation of Northern Cyprus, threats of war against Greece, embargo against Armenia and so on,” Chrysogonos said.
"European institutions must however make sure that the money goes to the refugees and not to the Turkish regime for other purposes," Kostas Chrysogonos said.
He underlined that the some two million refugees that Turkey is hosting are "an awesome financial burden if they are to live under decent human conditions and it is therefore entitled to economic support from the EU."
Last week, Brussels pledged up to $3.4 billion in aid, simplified visa procedures and accelerated EU ascension procedures for Turkey in return for its cooperation in stopping the refugee flow to Europe.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Monday that Ankara considers the $3.4 billion offered by the European Union to enable Turkey to take in more refugees to be sufficient only in the short-term and that more funding would be needed annually.
Last week, Brussels pledged up to $3.4 billion in aid, simplified visa procedures and accelerated EU ascension procedures for Turkey in exchange for cooperation in stemming the unprecedented flow of migrants into Europe. Merkel paid a visit to Turkey over the weekend and said it would support Ankara’s EU bid.
Europe has been beset by an enormous refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing to Europe to escape violence and poverty in their home countries. Over 710,000 migrants arrived in the European Union during the first nine months of 2015, according to the EU border agency Frontex.
