The Turkish-EU cooperation on the refugee crisis: the Turkish perceptions in the parliamentary debates

Official URL: https://ghum.kuleuven.be/ggs/research/paco/working-papers/pacowp07.pdf

Turkey faces the many challenges of managing the intake of an unprecedented number of refugees, and feels the ramifications of the Syrian crisis the most. As a candidate country for the European Union, its struggles on the path of democratization,coupled with significant foreign and domestic policy challenges make it a litmus test case for the EU’s foreign policy success. The continuing waves of migration since the onset of the Syrian civil war has demonstrated that a great number of individuals fleeing their war-torn countries consider Turkey a transit route to reach European territories, even at the risk of their lives. As the human tragedy of refugees unfolded, the need for a viable cooperation between Turkey and the EU has proven to be vital in overcoming a common challenge, resulting in the reutilization of the Readmission Agreement and a congruent Joint Action Plan. Hence, this paper undertakes an investigation of how this partnership is framed in the Turkish political scene in the nexus of the oscillating path of Turkey’s accession process and one of the most challenging humanitarian crises of our times. In this context, parliamentary representation presents itself as an encompassing site wherein a plethora of political viewpoints find expression in deliberating key policies. The analysis suggests that there is a general tendency of skepticism towards the EU in the Turkish political discourse, and a concomitant expectation for a more committed involvement in the refugee issue, which is increasingly framed in a security narrative.