Turkish PM in Berlin to ask for more EU migrant funds

Germany is aiming to put pressure on Turkey to reduce the number of refugees and migrants entering Europe, while Ankara is asking for more financial help as Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu attends talks in Berlin on Friday (22 January).

Before travelling to Germany, the Turkish prime minister warned at the World Economic Forum in Davos that an EU pledge for €3 billion may not be enough to deal with the refugee crisis, reported the German news agency DPA.

“Three billion euros is just to show the political will to share the burden. We will review it again and again because nobody knows how long it will take," Davutoglu told DPA.

“We are not begging for money from the EU,” he argued, saying that Turkey had spent over €9 billion of its own money on the refugees.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel i has come under increased pressure at home and abroad to reverse her welcoming policy towards refugees and put a cap on the number of asylum seekers allowed in Germany.

Merkel has not bowed to pressure on the cap so far, but last month promised her party, the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), that she wanted to “noticeably reduce the number of refugees” coming to Germany.

Without closing Germany’s borders, which Merkel argues would threaten the Schengen passport-free travel zone, the German Chancellor’ best hope is Turkey, from where almost all migrants leave for Greece, their first entry point to the EU.

Last year EU leaders agreed to pay €3 billion for projects that help refugees to integrate and improve living conditions in refugee camps in Turkey, which was aimed at reducing the number of refugees leaving Turkey and heading for Europe.

But member states have so far failed to agree on the mechanism of the fund, which will see a €2 billion contribution from member states, and €1 billion from the European Commission.

The leader of Germany's Green opposition party, Cem Özdemir i, said in an interview with Die Welt newspaper on Friday that “Merkel is letting [Turkish president Recep Tayyip] Erdogan i dictate the agenda”.

“The chancellor must not be blackmailed,” he added.

Davutoglu is arguing however that Turkey is a victim in this crisis.

“The root cause of this refugee crisis is not Turkey or anything related to Turkey. Turkey is the country which is most affected. We are not exporting a crisis ¬- a crisis has been exported to Turkey. Now, it has become a European crisis,” Davutoglu told DPA, referring to the wars in Syria and Iraq.

The Turkish government says nearly 3 million refugees, mostly Syrians, have come to the country.

Davutoglu and his ministers will be meeting with defence minister Ursula Von der Leyen, vice chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, interior minister Thomas de Maiziere, and development minister Gerd Müller on Friday.

Italy reluctant

Senior EU officials have said the €3 billion funding to Turkey has been blocked by Italy for now.

An Italian diplomat told this website that their main concern was whether the sum would come through the EU budget.

“We do, of course agree with the political decision,” the diplomat told EUobserver.

“We do question if all €3 billion should come directly from the EU budget or a split of EU budget and national contributions. We’re assessing if it could be better to use the EU budget alone,” the diplomat added.

“We’re not blocking anything. It’s not a cash fund. It’s project financing and the European Commission money is already there, so if any project arises, it can be financed immediately,” the diplomat argued.

Last week EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker i showed his frustration with Italy.

"I struggle to understand Italy's amazing reservation about the 3 billion to Turkey because the money is not going to Turkey but is for Syrian refugees in Turkey," Juncker told a press conference.

"These three billion are a question of credibility for the EU," he added.