Tsipras to highlight visit to Turkey in Valletta Summit on migration
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
VALETTA (ANA-MPA/N. Lionakis) – The Summit meeting in Valletta on migration is continuing with a working dinner on Wednesday evening, attended by EU member-states and African nations. On Thursday, the informal summit of the EU member-states will focus on managing the refugee crisis on a European level.
According to government sources, Greece will highlight Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ visit to Ankara next week. The government wants to present EU’s agenda to Turkey, listen to the country’s arguments and requests and then for Greece to play a role in preparing the imminent EU-Turkey meeting. The same sources said Greece wants to play a central role in the EU’s negotiations with Turkey on managing the refugee flows, and that the country has the ability to discuss Turkey’s positions on behalf of the EU.
On Thursday morning, Tsipras is expected to meet with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on the sidelines of the summit, to discuss the refugee crisis, coordination for the informal summit and the Greek premier’s visit to Turkey. Tsipras is also expected to meet with the President of Switzerland, Simonetta Sommaruga, with whom he will discuss economic and tax issues.
The Greek government wants to transfer the process of refugee identification and resettlement in Turkey to “stop the daily risk and drama of lives lost in the Aegean”, as the prime minister recently said. It will also propose providing help to Turkey to guard its borders. This issue will be at the top of the agenda in Tsipras’ meetings in Turkey next week.
On its side, Turkey wants a relaxation of visa requirements for its citizens, an acceleration of EU accession talks, funding for the handling of refugee flows and the start of a series of EU-Turkey meetings. Turkey is requesting financial assistance totaling 3 billion euros, but the Fund which is expected to be announced during the Valletta Summit will initially total just 1.81 billion euros. The informal summit will be attended by Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans who will have returned from a trip to Turkey.
Concerning the Summit deliberations of the Summit, which will continue tomorrow, Tsipras is expected to reiterate his position that Greece is at the centre of three crises, that it is pressured by the massive flows of refugees and that it is fighting to manage the situation on the principles of solidarity.
Greece aims to present the refugee and migrant issue as a problem concerning the EU and the Mediterranean region as a whole and agrees that it must be noted that most refugees and migrants arrive from Africa and Turkey.
The Summit is also expected to approve a document of conclusions and an action plan. Regarding the point about tackling exploitation and migrant smuggling, government sources said the Greek position is that the problem should not be limited to a local level, but that there should be a comprehensive fight against trafficking networks. According to sources, Tsipras is expected to say that the refugee crisis is caused by poverty in the countries of origin and regional crises and any effort to deal with the problem must focus on these causes. He will also say that a road map must be created which will bind each country to common principles.