EU delays Turkey migrant deal after Ankara stalls

European Union leaders on Monday delayed until next week a decision on a deal with Turkey to cope with the migrant crisis, after Ankara suddenly ratcheted up its demands in return for its cooperation at a summit in Brussels.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stunned his counterparts by demanding an extra three billion euros ($3.3 billion) in aid in exchange for his country’s help to counter the continent’s biggest migration crisis since World War II.

He also proposed a refugee swap under which the EU would resettle one Syrian refugee from Turkey in exchange for every Syrian that Turkey takes back from the overstretched Greek islands, a move that rights groups say would be illegal.

Davutoglu further demanded that the 28-nation bloc would also bring forward visa-free travel for Turks to June, and speed up the country’s long-stalled EU membership bid.

After extending the meeting into the early hours of Tuesday to ponder the cost of Turkey’s help, the EU leaders said they backed the proposal in principle but would need until the next scheduled European summit next week to deal with the controversial proposals.

The next summit will now take place on March 17-18, with the pressure on Europe to reach a deal that will stem a crisis that has seen more than a million refugees and migrants flood its shores since it began more than a year ago...
 [AFP -france24.com]
8/3/16