Germany Promotes Turkish EU Accession for Own Economic Benefit – UKIP MP

Germany is pushing for Turkish accession to the European Union in the interest of its own economic gain, not to promote the bloc's agenda, a UKIP member of the European Parliament told Sputnik Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova — On Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Turkey, where she expressed support for the country's leadership in its bid to join the European Union in return for cooperation to stop the refugee flow to Europe, adding she would discuss the issue with the other members of the bloc.

“I think it is almost a certainty,” Raymond Finch said about the possibility of Turkey joining the European Union.

“Because Germany’s birthrate is declining massively, they have already a large Turkish population, and they want more cheap labor, and they see, would probably see, the Turks as a means to get cheap labor to suppress local wage conditions.”

Last week, Brussels pledged up to $3.4 billion in aid, simplified visa procedures and accelerated EU ascension procedures for Turkey in exchange for its cooperation in stemming the unprecedented migrant flow to Europe.

“It is all about the economic indicators for Germany. Frankly, Angela Merkel does whatever she wants, she does whatever she thinks is best for Germany, not for the European Union, not for any of the European nations, and certainly not for the migrants,” Finch said.

Finch estimated that the process of Turkey acceding to the European Union, talks on which began in 2005, could be completed within 5 to 10 years, but he noted that the very fact of the country’s accession is “rather odd, because Turkey isn’t even a European nation.”

The Turkey-EU deal was forged by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who said the action plan would provide guarantees that the refugees currently in Turkey would stay there. The deal will also ensures that no refugees use Turkey as a transit route to EU member states.

Some 710,000 people, fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, have crossed the European Union’s external borders in the first nine months of this year, according to the bloc’s border agency Frontex.

The more funding the European Union provides to Turkey to stem the influx of refugees, the more Ankara will ask for, the UKIP lawmaker told Sputnik.

“No it isn’t [the right approach],” Raymond Finch said about allocating EU money to Turkey. “What will happen obviously is that Turkey will then allow more migrants in, and they will demand more money from the EU to house them.”

Finch drew an analogy between the current situation with Turkey and that of Medieval England where Vikings demanded that the English pay them vast amounts of money to leave the local population in peace, before returning the next year seeking more money. “It is precisely the same,” he said.