"Leaders of the European Union and Turkey were set to sign an agreement on Sunday offering Ankara cash and closer ties in return for help in stemming the flow of migrants to Europe, draft conclusions of their summit showed.
Aware of a sense of desperation in Europe for a solution to a crisis that has called into question the future of its passport-free travel zone, Ankara has been driving a hard bargain.
Diplomats said the 28 EU governments had struggled through Saturday to agree a final offer.
The draft deal seen by Reuters made clear the nature of the trade-off, involving Turkish help in handling the flow of migrants to the EU, expected to reach 1.5 million people this year alone, and the EU offering cash and restarting talks on EU accession.
"Both sides will ... with immediate effect, step up their active cooperation on migrants..., preventing travel to Turkey and the EU, ensuring ... readmission provisions and swiftly returning migrants who are not in need of international protection to their countries of origin," the draft said." NY Times
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IMO Sultan Tayyip has won this round in his contest on behalf of Islam and against the West. The migrants who have flooded Europe nearly all came from camps in Turkey or they transited Turkey. Turkey is very nearly s police state under Sultan Tayyip. In addition to the massive armed forces there is the jendarma (gendarmerie) which is also massively resourced and ubiquitous. A mouse can't squeak in Turkey without Sultan Tayyip knowing in what key it sings. You have noticed that the Turks did not try to keep the migrants from crossing the narrow straits to the Greek islands?
IMO Sultan Tayyip and his vizier Davutoglu sent the refugees to Europe in the belief that the pressure of the inundation and its inevitable cargo of embedded IS infiltrators would cause the Euroweenies to fold. The turbaned ones (figuratively) were obviously right.
Turkey will receive a bribe of 3.2 billion dollars (3 billion Euro) in return for keeping further migrants out of Greece and for taking some back (maybe). They will also receive accelerated processing of their desired membership in the EU. As Davutoglu said today "now we can move forward in managing OUR continent."
The tughra at the top is that of Suleiman the Magnificent. Sultan Tayyip evidently does not have one yet. Suleiman conquered most of the Balkans for Islam and very nearly captured Vienna. He besieged the city.
Sultan Tayyip is marching in Suleiman's footsteps. pl