Roundup: Analysts say EU-Turkey deal on refugees has wider implications

A deal reached Sunday between the European Union and Turkey to stem the flow of refugees, mostly Syrians, to Europe has wider implications, analysts said.

In return, the EU offered concessions such as provision of 3.2 billion U.S. dollars and speedup of talks on Ankara's EU accession.

The deal was hailed as a success by most analysts in Turkey, although some expressed reservations over the negative impacts on Ankara.

"The EU was reminded of Turkey due to a refugee crisis. Whatever the case is, Turkey needs to capitalize on that," Gungor Uras, a Turkish expert, said.

"The mutual confidence was lost. Now, in a sense, there is a return to the normalcy (in ties)," he added.

The 3.2 billion dollars, to be given in installments, is to help Turkey take care of refugees in the hope that over 2.2 million Syrians living there will not venture out to try to reach Europe.

In addition to Syrians, the refugees also include nationals from such countries as Myanmar, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Iran, who will be repatriated to Turkey as part of the agreement.

A joint EU-Turkish statement said that "results must be achieved in particular in stemming the influx of irregular migrants."

On Oct. 15, the two sides agreed on a Joint Action Plan that requires Turkey to readmit refugees who were intercepted in Europe and who were found to have transited from Turkey.

"We expect a major step toward changing rules of the game when it comes to stemming the migration flow that is coming to the EU via Turkey," said Donald Tusk, president of the European Council.

Some, though, are skeptical of the deal, where the EU wants to create a buffer zone in Turkey and shift its responsibility on refugees.

"Turkey has committed to granting a legal status to not only Syrians but also all irregular migrants from Asia and Africa, provide employment, housing, and improve conditions for health and education of refugees," said Ramazan Tas, director of the Center for Economic Studies at the Ankara-based Center of Law, Ethics and Political Studies.

He said the deal will have negative impact on the competitiveness of the Turkish economy because of rising unemployment, poverty and burgeoning share of unregistered economy.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu hailed the agreement as a success, noting that the 3.2 billion dollars will go to Syrian refugees, not Turkey.

Stressing that Turkey has already spent some 8 billion dollars on refugees, Davutoglu said the deal was about burden sharing on dealing with a humanitarian crisis.

There are currently between 250,000 and 300,000 refugees living in 25 refugee camps in Turkey. Other refugees are dispersed throughout the country.

Davutoglu also praised the renewed impetus on Turkey's accession talks for full membership in the EU that has been stalled for some time.

According to the deal, the EU agreed to open Chapter 17 on economic and monetary policy in December with preparations for an additional five to six chapters to be completed in the first quarter of 2016.

Turkey has managed to close only one out of the 35 chapters that it needs to negotiate before being admitted. Talks on 14 chapters have been opened but stalled mainly due to the Cyprus problem.

"The relationship between Turkey and Europe can improve very quickly if the Cyprus negotiations,which have reached final stages, got concluded as expected," said, Ismet Berkan, an analyst and columnist with Turkey's Hurriyet daily.

Cyprus, an EU member state since 2004, is currently blocking six chapters on Turkey's accession talks.

Cyprus was divided into two after Turkey's 1974 intervention following a brief Greek-inspired coup. Talks over the years to reunite the island have failed, though there are encouraging signs of progress in the latest round.

As part of the refugee deal, Turkey and the EU also agreed to hold two summit meetings a year.

"More frequent high-level dialogue is essential to explore the vast potential of Turkey-EU relations," the joint statement noted. Endit