Merkel and Hollande Give 'Sultan' Erdogan This Much Power Over Europe

© AP Photo / Tolga Bozoglu, PoolGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchange gifts before their talks
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchange gifts before their talks - Sputnik International
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Turkish authorities have recently received much more than they ever bargained for when European leaders agreed to their terms in hope that Ankara would help them to stem the flow of refugees from the Middle East and Northern Africa, but these aspirations are misplaced, French lawyer Gabriel Robin wrote for Boulevard Voltaire.

The price for the refugee agreement will be high, both financially and politically, he added. The deal "will change nothing. The refugees will continue to come, but it will be the Europeans who will pay for it."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan exchange gifts before their talks - Sputnik International
Brussels Negotiating With Turkey Proves EU is 'Morally Bankrupt'
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has long allowed migrants to freely travel to the Schengen Area through Turkey, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the European Commission have "actively backed" this, he insisted.

Turkey has recently agreed to take one Syrian refugee, who tries to enter the European Union illegally through Greece, for every migrant from Syria, whom the EU lets in from Turkish refugee camps. Ankara will also receive $6.6 billion to improve conditions of those living in temporary settlements in Turkey. The initial aid package amounted to $3.3 billion.

© AFP 2023 / ARIS MESSINISRefugees and migrants massed onto an inflatable boat reach Mytilene, northern island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 17, 2016
Refugees and migrants massed onto an inflatable boat reach Mytilene, northern island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 17, 2016 - Sputnik International
Refugees and migrants massed onto an inflatable boat reach Mytilene, northern island of Lesbos, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey on February 17, 2016

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives at an EU-Turkey summit in Brussels, as the bloc is looking to Ankara to help it curb the influx of refugees and migrants flowing into Europe, March 7, 2016. - Sputnik International
Merkel Increasingly Isolated as EU States Close Borders to Migrants
In addition, Turkey wants visa-free access to the Schengen Area, comprising 26 European countries, as well as the acceleration of the EU membership talks.

The document is expected to be finalized at the upcoming summit next week, on March 17-18.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan "has big plans for Turkey in the Mediterranean and the world. He laughs at [European leaders] like a senior high school student laughs at preschoolers," Robin lamented.

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