MPs have highlighted concerns about Turkey’s potential accession to the European Union, warning the country needs to tighten up its border controls before becoming a member. The Commons Home Affairs Committee said it had “real concerns” about Turkey’s border security, given the country’s proximity to Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Since 2005 Turkey has been in a formal process which could see it joining the EU - a move firmly backed by the UK government. However parts of the process are currently stalled following objections raised by member states, particularly France.
Committee chairman Keith Vaz said giving Turkey membership risked an influx of new migrants to Europe from the Middle East. “It was clear from our visits to Turkey and Greece that, despite the willingness of the authorities to tackle the problem of illegal migration into the EU through this region, much more needs to be done," he said.
“In particular, we require a collective commitment from Greece, Turkey and the European and international law enforcement agencies to share intelligence and work together to bring down the criminal gangs who are responsible for bringing thousands of migrants into the EU each month.
“I am concerned that, if action is not taken now, it will become even easier for migrants from countries such as Afghanistan and Iran to enter the EU once Turkey is a member. The UK Government and its EU partners must therefore do everything they can to assist Turkey in tightening its border controls.”
The committee also warned the country needs to tackle drugs trade, with around 80% of heroin in Europe passing through Turkey. The report notes: “Turkish organised crime groups pose a substantial threat to the internal security of the EU, largely owing to Turkey’s position along the heroin trafficking route from Afghanistan to Europe.”
Fadi Hakura, manager of the Turkey project at Chatham House told the Huffington Post UK Turkey had more of an incentive to deal with drugs than to tackle immigration.
"[The report] identifies the Greek-Turkish border as one of the last major loopholes in the field of people migration. That is not a surprise. Turkey has a major incentive not to become a major transit point for drugs because it will have a significant social impact but on people smuggling Turkey has far less incentive to act because most of the illegal migrants want to use Turkey as a stepping stone into the EU.”
He added: “The European opponents of Turkish membership cite migration, the migration of Turks as one of the key factors for opposing accession. But the details of this report shows that the level of Turkish migration both legal and illegal has actually been going down. It's non-Turkish migration, like Afghans, Jordans, Palestinians, that are going up."
MPs noted that within Turkey there’s now less enthusiasm for joining the EU than a few years ago. MPs write: “The UK Government is, like its predecessor, a staunch supporter of Turkish accession. However, support is by no means uniform across the 27 EU Member States and enthusiasm for EU membership in Turkey has also declined.”