Tensions between Turkey and the EU are increasing. President Erdogan is moving into focus - and dramatic scenes are taking place at an EU border.
- President Erdogan visited Putin in Moscow to negotiate another ceasefire in Syria.
- The situation on the Greek-Turkish border is still fragile.
- Nevertheless, Erodgan now compares the actions of the Greek authorities to the Nazi crimes.
Update of March 13, 2020, 10:35 p.m .: Due to the coronavirus pandemic , discussions between Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the refugee crisis do not appear to be in a planned form. Instead of a meeting on Tuesday in Istanbul, a conference call is now planned, the state-run Turkish news agency Anadolu reported on Friday.
Crisis on the Turkish border: EU sends new officials - "coalition of the willing" grows
Update of March 13, 2020, 8:05 p.m .: To help Greece deal with the influx of refugees on the border with Turkey , the EU border protection agency Frontex has started a surveillance campaign there. Hundreds of Frontex border guards from 22 EU member states were stationed at the Kastanies border crossing, Greek government circles said on Friday. EU officials had already started patrolling near the border fence and "along roads in the region".
In the meantime, the “coalition of the willing” to accept underage refugees from Greece is growing. At the meeting of EU interior ministers, other countries had signaled readiness or were considering it, EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson said in Brussels on Friday. However, the 27 countries still cannot agree on a common approach. Some countries vehemently rejected the move to get children and adolescents out of the overcrowded camps on the Greek Aegean Islands. The spread of the corona virus could also complicate the project.
Johansson had announced the previous day that there was a “coalition of the willing” from seven states. They wanted to take at least 1,600 unaccompanied minor migrants and other refugees from Greece. In addition to Germany, this includes France, Ireland, Finland, Portugal, Luxembourg and Croatia . On Friday in Brussels it was said that Bulgaria had also shown willingness. This also applies to Italy - as soon as the corona virus crisis has relaxed.
Johansson said there is some momentum now. Luxembourg, which had announced the admission of ten unaccompanied minors, plans to relocate the first few people next week. But for each country, a tailor-made approach is needed, which also takes into account the selection criteria of the respective states - such as age or language.
According to the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection, there are currently more than 42,500 migrants living in Lesbos, Samos, Kos, Leros and Chios - the capacity is actually around 6000 places. According to the EU Commission, around 5,500 of them are unaccompanied minors.
Turkey: Greece uses high-pressure devices against refugees - blow back tear gas?
Update of March 13, 2020, 11.45 a.m .: It is an almost cynical situation: Refugees and migrants who want to cross the border into Greece from the Turkish side are getting literally new headwinds . It comes from Greece: from huge fans . The Greek border police say they use high-pressure devices that are usually used in wind tunnels for parachutists.
Migrants on the Greek-Turkish border
© dpa / Uncredited
According to welt.de and dpa , these high-pressure devices were mounted on jeeps for the first time on Thursday and used to blow smoke and tear gas back to the Turkish side of the border at the Kastania border crossing.
Turkey-Greece: situation at the border escalates
Update of March 12, 2020, 10:01 p.m .: Dozens of migrants tried again on Thursday evening to storm the Greek border fence at Kastanies. They lit fires and hurled incendiaries and stones at the Greek police from the Turkish side. The Greek security forces in turn used tear gas , water cannons and powerful fans to drive the smoke from the fires back onto the migrants. This was reported by several Greek media from the region.
The situation calmed down again in the evening, it was said from circles of the border police. Since Turkey declared at the end of February that the border to the EU is open to migrants, thousands have made their way to Greece to get to the EU.
Refugees in Greece: EU wants to motivate migrants to return with money
Update from March 12, 2020, 8:53 p.m .: Due to the worsening situation in the overcrowded refugee camps on the Greek islands, the EU wants to offer asylum seekers financial incentives to return home. "We have now agreed on a special, time-limited program to support voluntary return," said EU Interior Commissioner Ylva Johansson after talks in Athens. The program is aimed at targeting 5,000 migrants who arrived in Greece before January 1st are.
Accordingly, everyone who receives voluntary returns should receive 2,000 euros . The offer is only valid for a period of one month, said Johansson. The money is said to help asylum seekers start over in their countries of origin, she added.
"It is clear that we are facing a national emergency and that we have to protect our borders," said Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi. The voluntary return will be made possible with the help of the International Organization for Migration and the EU border agency Frontex
organized."
Turkey: "Can start again at any moment" - EU replenishes with armored cars
Update of March 12, 2020, 1.43 p.m .: Additional Frontex security officers were deployed on the border between Greece and Turkey on Thursday. For days, thousands of migrants have been waiting there for their chance to enter the EU - something that Greek border officials are preventing. In addition to Austrians and Cypriots who have been on site for a week, Poles and Czechs will also be there from now on, the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection said.
Local reporters observed a large armored vehicle belonging to the Austrian police that was moving along the road to the Evros border river near the small town of Orestiada on Thursday. Several trucks were also sighted, which brought barbed wire and large cement obstacles into the buffer zone between Greece and Turkey.
"It can start again at any moment," said a Greek customs official at the border crossing, which had been closed for several days, the German Press Agency. The military estimates that there are more than 6,000 migrants on the Turkish side of the border, who are waiting for the next opportunity to come to Greece and thus to the EU.
Turkey: Another storm on the border fence - Leyen cancels Greece trip because of Corona
Update of March 12, 2020, 10.50 a.m .: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has canceled a trip to Greece planned for Thursday due to the corona virus . The decision was made in consultation with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in view of the constantly evolving situation in the corona crisis, von der Leyen said on Twitter.
In view of the evolving situation in Europe related to # COVID19 and in agreement with the Greek PM @kmitsotakis, I have decided to postpone my trip to Athens tomorrow. I will be focusing on launching the EU coordination efforts announced yesterday.
- Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) March 11, 2020The Commission President announced that she now wanted to concentrate on implementing the coordination measures agreed within the EU in the fight against the virus. Their trip to Greece was supposed to find solutions for 5500 unaccompanied minor refugees .
Instead of the Leyen, interior commissioner Ylva Johansson is apparently traveling to Greece. On Thursday in Athens with Greek authorities and other stakeholders, she would “protect European borders” and “European solidarity”, the Swedish social democrat wrote on Twitter.
Escalation at the border: EU should give in to Erdogan's demands - Greeks expect further incidents
Update from March 12, 2020, 7.30 a.m .: The situation on the border between Greece and Turkey is still tense. On Wednesday evening - after three days of silence - there were again serious incidents at the border crossing at Kastanies / Pazarkule. Hundreds of migrants stormed a border fence at this crossing after several eyewitness accounts. They hurled dozens of fire bottles, stones and other objects over the fence and tried to tear it down in order to get from Turkey to Greece and thus to the EU. The Greek security forces use tear gas. The situation calmed down late on Wednesday evening.
In Athens, political observers assumed that similar incidents could occur again and again in the next few days. This should put pressure on the EU to meet Turkish demands. A summit meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Tuesday. "Until then, we have to be extremely careful," said a police officer from the German Press Agency in the main town of the Alexandroupoli border region on Thursday morning.
Escalation at the EU border: Turkish coast guard rams patrol boat
Update of March 11, 2020, 9 p.m .: Conflicts broke out again in the afternoon and evening on the border between Greece and Turkey . On the Turkish side, migrants threw incendiary devices and tried to tear down the fence; Greek security forces shot tear gas over the fence. Videos released by Greek media showed a number of fires in the evening, and explosions from bullets such as tear gas and stun grenades were heard repeatedly. According to Greece, the migrants are supported by Turkish police officers and, for example, equipped with tear gas.
On Wednesday afternoon, two Turkish F-16 fighter jets are said to have penetrated the Greek airspace over the Evros border river and in some cases flown at a height of only a few hundred meters. The newspaper "Kathimerini" reported, citing the Greek general staff. The newspaper speculates that Turkey wants to rekindle the conflict after two days of relative calm. Turkey accuses the Greek authorities of shooting at least two migrants at the common border. Athens firmly rejects this.
Dispute over refugees between EU and Turkey: aid organization wants to charter flight
Update of March 11, 2020, 6:30 p.m .: The German aid organization Mission Lifeline has collected enough donations to book a charter flight to take refugees from the Greek island of Lesbos to Berlin. "There were even more than the required 55,000 euros," said Mission Lifeline spokesman Axel Steier. The organization now immediately expected signals from politics that have not yet commented on the rescue project.
"The evacuation from Lesbos with the inhumane conditions there does not tolerate postponement," said Steier. It was about children and families who were denied basic human rights. As with natural disasters, action must also be taken quickly in man-made crisis situations.
Border dispute over Greece: Erdogan threatens Brussels with open borders
Update of March 11, 2020, 2:06 p.m .: In the intensifying refugee dispute with the EU, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to keep Turkey's borders open to refugees until Brussels fulfills all his demands: "Until Turkey's expectations are noticeable are fulfilled, we will continue the practice at our borders, ”Erdogan said in a television speech on Wednesday.
He mentioned the resumption of talks on visa-free travel for Turkish nationals in Europe, the opening of new chapters in Ankara's EU accession process, a modernization of the customs union and additional financial support as demands. "We don't beg anyone. All we want is to keep the promises made to our country, ”Erdogan added.
The Turkish head of state had declared his country's borders to the EU open at the end of February. This caused a strong influx of refugees on the Turkish-Greek border. Greek authorities kept the borders closed and partially pushed back refugees using tear gas.
EU-Turkey dispute: Turkish coast guard rams Greek coast guard
Update of March 11, 2020, 11:43 a.m .: A Turkish Coast Guard boat touched a bow of a Greek Coast Guard speedboat off the Greek island of Kos and damaged its railing. Nobody got hurt. As reported by the Greek coast guard on Wednesday, the incident occurred at 5:45 a.m. local time. The crew of the Turkish boat "had the intended purpose of the collision, with the clear intention of ramming it (the Greek boat)" , said the coast guard in Piraeus in writing.
The incident occurred, according to Greek information, within the Greek territorial waters near the midline of the maritime border with the Turkish Aegean coast. The Greek boat patrolled along this EU maritime border to determine whether migrants from Turkey were translating to Greece. The Greek coast guard said that there had been minor damage to the Greek boat.
Erdogan compares actions by Greek authorities with Nazi crimes: "... there is no difference"
Update of March 11, 2020, 8.25 a.m .: Turkish authorities Recep Tayyip Erdogan compared the actions of the Greek authorities against migrants at the border with the crimes of the Nazis . "There is no difference between what the Nazis did and these pictures on the Greek border," Erdogan said in Ankara on Wednesday. "What they did in the Nazi camps is also done by the Greeks on behalf of the West, almost as paid officials of the West," he added. "And they kill too. They are paid legionaries from the West. "
Erdogan had already attacked Greece on Sunday, accusing the neighboring country of "beating", "killing" and "torturing" migrants who had made it into the EU illegally returning to Turkey.
Turkey / Greece: The situation on the border remains calm even on Wednesday night
Update of March 11, 2020, 8.25 a.m .: There were no major incidents at the Greek-Turkish border river Evros on the night of Wednesday for the third day in a row. In isolated cases, migrants tried to cross the fence at the Kastanies / Pazarkule border crossing or to cross the Evros (Turkish: Meriç), reported the Greek state television ERT. According to the government in Athens, the Greek security forces have prevented nearly 43,400 people from illegally entering Turkey from Turkey to Greece since February 29 and Tuesday. In addition, 346 migrants who managed to illegally translate were arrested.
Aid from the European Border Guard Agency Frontex is also starting . In addition, police officers from Austria were already deployed to the Evros. Reinforcements also came from Cyprus . A total of around 1000 Frontex security officers were expected in the coming days, Greek media reported, citing the Greek Ministry of Civil Protection. The situation on the islands in the east of the Aegean remained largely calm during the night on Wednesday. There have been hardly any migrants from Turkey for six days, as the Ministry of Migration announced. The camps on these islands are still overcrowded.
Greece's plans for a refugee camp near Bulgaria have been criticized
Update of March 10, 5.48 p.m .: The Syria crisis is now spreading not only to Turkey, Russia and Greece . Now she is also causing a stir in Bulgaria. There, Greece's plans for a new refugee camp near the common border were sharply criticized. "A settlement of illegal migrants on the Greek side near our border creates the conditions for increased tensions," wrote Bulgarian Defense Minister Krassimir Karakachanov on Facebook on Tuesday.
It was a "unreasonable" proposal from the Athens government and "not a gesture of good neighborliness". With this statement, Karakachanov responded to an announcement by Athens that a temporary camp for migrants should be built around 45 kilometers from the Bulgarian border . People are supposed to be admitted there who come to Greece from Turkey.
According to Prime Minister Boiko Borissow, Bulgaria wants to apply to the EU Commission for 130 million euros for its border guards . The money is to be used to better equip the border police in order to be prepared for a "severe migration crisis", as Borissow explained on Tuesday in Sofia before a government meeting. Bulgaria is striving for "direct help" from Germany.
Putin dupes Erdogan with an embarrassing video - Merkel speaks plainly about Turkey
First report : Moscow / Brussels - The situation in Syria has still not calmed down. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin met in Moscow after a bomb attack in Idlib province. The two wanted to negotiate an armistice. But Putin was apparently in no hurry. The Russian state broadcaster “Rossija 1” released a video showing Erdogan standing waiting in the anteroom of the conference room. For two minutes.
Putin makes Erdogan wait in front of TV cameras
Atypical for Erdogan - typical for President Putin. As reported by Bild.de, the Russian president often leaves his state visits longer. Even Pope Francis had to wait an hour.
However, Erdogan does not only have negotiation problems in the Syria conflict. On Monday he visited Brussels to negotiate the situation on the Turkish-Greek border . EU Council chief Michel announced in the run-up to the talks that both parties have "different opinions on different points". It was important "to have a clear and open dialogue and to see how we can overcome the various problems." The Turkish President had the clear intention of significantly strengthening the relationship between Brussels and the EU.
EU-Turkey agreement: Merkel wants to prevent a repeat of 2015
Erdogan had declared at the end of February that the borders with the EU were open to migrants. Many thousands of people then went to Greece . However, the Greek government responded to the refugees with water cannons and tear gas. Migrants also repeatedly threw stones. Chancellor Angela Merkel believes it is particularly important to avoid conditions like five years ago.
Merkel in plain text about Erdogan: Turkey's behavior "unacceptable"
"2020 is not 2015," said the Chancellor at a German-Greek economic forum on Monday. Turkey's behavior was called "unacceptable" and warned that the country could not face its own problems on the "back" of refugees. It is committed to developing the EU-Turkey agreement further, reports the dpa.
Merkel * also said that Greece had a "big responsibility" towards the EU. It is therefore important to give them full solidarity and support. Combating the causes of flight is still the most important thing. The grand coalition is ready to accept vulnerable children. There is still criticism of the EU's behavior in dealing with the refugee situation - an ARD commentary polarizes.
dpa / mk
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network
List of rubric lists: © dpa / Burhan Ozbilici
