EU "Big 4" Paris Migration Summit: Hotspots in Africa+Stop Irregular Migrants. Why Not in Turkey ?

*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- The interesting Strategy agreed Today on how to handle the Challenge of Mass Migration from Africa at EU's "Big 4" Summit in Paris, which brought Together French, German, Italian and Spanish Heads of State/Government, (Macron, Merkel, Gentilone and Rajoy) with several directly concerned African Countries, focused mainly on establishing UNHCR "Hotspots" to Verify Real Refugees at the Other Side of the Mediterranean Sea, in order to Stop Irregular Migrants' often Deadly Maritime Crossings and Smugglers' Trafficking, avoid Infiltration of Terrorists and Protect European Societies' cohesion, while also Opening a Crystal-clear, Legal Access to Europe for seriously Threatened Persons who legitimately seek Safety.

The obvious Question inevitably Raised by that European Move naturaly is : - Why EU doesn't do the Same also vis a vis Turkey ?

Indeed, Ankara has notoriously let More than 1,5 Million Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants suddenly tresspass EU's External Borders (most often via Systematicaly Organized Turkish Smugglers) mainly via the Greek Islands, already in 2015-2016, and Still Threatens to do more or less alike nowadays, while, in the meantime, the most Recent UNHCR and IMO Figures reveal that such a Risk has anew Started to Emerge also on 2017 (See relevant Facts Infra)...

EU has reportedly Promised to African Nations some 1,8 Billions € earlier, (largely Loans), while, on the Contrary, Turkey asked and was attributed almost the Double + : 3 Billions € Each Year, (all in Full Grants). But the Huge African Continent has, comparatively, a much Bigger potential for Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants, including through Poverty, Violent Conflicts and Islamist Terrorists, even ISIS-related, from Nigeria and Mali, etc., up to Libya and even Morocco, etc, as, inter alia, the Recent Attack which Targetted innocent Civilian People in Barcelona (Spain), reminded just a few Days ago, (Comp. f.ex. : ... ).

As for some's Claims that Turkey might have considerably Reduced itself the 2015-2016 unprecedented Huge "Tsunami" of Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants just Because of a Controversial EU - Turkey Deal, they are simply Wrong, as "Eurofora" has already Proved, in a Publication made on May 2016, Based mainly on the Analysis of irrefutable Data from Competent International Organisations, such as UNHCR, IMO, etc., (See : ...) :

- In Fact, the Number of Irregular Mass Tresspassings of EU's External Borders through Turkey had already Started to Sharply Fall, and indeed Fell Down very Rapidly, Months Before that Cntroversial EU - Turkey Deal was Concluded, Signed, and Entered into Force : Because this was Achieved much Earlier, precisely when cartain European (EU and Not EU) Countries, mainly located through the so-called "Western Balkans Route", from Hungary and Austria up to FYROM, etc, progressively Started to Close their own Borders, and Urgently Protect them with Police, Army, Fences, etc., so that the Message was Strongly given that whoever might Enter Greece through Turkey, from Now on, would be Trapped there, withOut any Chance to Reach Germany and other desired EU Countries.

Recently, even Italy reportedly Started to react in a Similar manner, f.ex. by Threatening to Close all its SeaPorts to African Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants - importing Vessels, and by trying to Directly Deal with Libyan and other Entities, etc., until it Started to Produce some First concrete Results : Indeed, the Numbers of such Massive Influx towards Italy Fell Down on July and August 2017, after having Risen considerably during the Previous Months :

- F.ex. the Average number of Daily Arrivals in Italy has just Fallen, from 370 during July 2017, Down to just 112 during August, according to UNHCR. And this Downward Trend is Now Accelerating even Further : Thus, the Latest Daily Figures, between 23 - 27 August 2017 are Only : 0, 0, 73, 53 and 64 per Day. Meanwhile, Total Arrivals to Italy, which had Risen almost Every Month at a Higher Level from the Previous Year (2016) between February and June (Up to More than 23 Thousands per Month), suddenly Started to Fall Down to the Half of where they were the Previous Month, on July and August 2017, (Down to about 3 Thousand).

Nevertheless, the overall Number of Total Arrivals in Italy during 2017 remained almost as High as Back on 2016, until Today (August 28) : i.e. About 98.000 compared to 105.000, respectively.

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Influx from Turkey grows
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But, the most Recent Trend is, on the Contrary, to Grow Upwards, as far as the Arrivals from Turkey to Greece are concerned in 2017, which Augment, these Days, quite Sharply, pointing anew at the Shaky Limits of that Controversial EU - Turkey Deal :

- F.ex., for the 1st Time in 2017, More than 200 Arrivals per Day from Turkey reached Greece a Day of April (205), May (203), July (251), and August (247), when the Daily Influx Grew up to 341 (July) and 328 (August), Reaching even ... 512 another Day of this Month ! Meanwhile, the Average Daily Arrivals in Greece almost DOUBLED between July and August 2017, Growing from 73 per Each Day, to More than 122. During Five Recent Days (19-23 August) Greece saw Daily Numbers of ...341, 512, 125 and 221 !

 Thus, for the Last 2 Weeks (14 - 27 August 2017) Arrivals in Greece from Turkey ..."Exploded", becoming almost the DOUBLE of those in Italy : approximatively 2 Thousands, instead of just 1 Thousand, (1.960 instead of 989), respectively, according to the Latest Figures published by the International Organisation of Migration... 

This Growing Trend might be, in Fact, much Longer and Frequent : F.ex., according to IOM's Mediterranean Statistics, at least from January up to June 2017 (included), Greece, Italy (where Turkey's influx grew), and Spain, saw More Arrivals than during the Same Months in the Year 2015. In Addition, on April, May and June 2017, they saw More Arrivals than during the Same Months in the Year 2016. (See relevant IOM's Graphics).

+ Security aspects appear also Worsening :

F.ex., on July 2017 the Number of Fatal Incidents (Deaths) among People Trying to Tresspass into Greece (EU) via Turkey, for the First Time, Grew Bigger than that of the Last Year, 2016 :  Almost 550 (instead of about 390)...

And the Number of Arrivals to Greece from Syria, (while ISIS and other Deadly Islamist Terrorists Targetting even innocent Civilian People are notoriously Losing Ground recently, Both around Aleppo, Palmyra and Raqqa, as well as elsewhere), became Much Bigger in 2017, than what it was Last Year, Back on 2016 (almost Double)...

=> In Consequence, a notorious Risk for More and More Former Violent "Djihadists" to Infiltrate the Influx of Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants Arriving inside Europe (as it already happened since 2015, f.ex. in Paris, etc) becomes Greater, Augmenting the current Threats of Terrorist Attacks against European People.

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++ In Parallel, the continuing Blockade of the Westen Balkans' Route (Comp. Supra), inevitably Augments the Number of Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants "Trapped" in Greece, making the Situation more and more Difficult for All, particularly at the Islands, (as various Recent Incidents reveal).

+++ At the Time, the Total Influx in Europe via Turkey becomes even Wider, as Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants pushed by mainly Turkish Smugglers Recently Started, for the 1st Time, to Arrive not only in Greece, but also in Italy (where the Turkish-Origin Flows Augmented notably on 2017), and even up to Romania, through the Black Sea !

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=> Therefore, for all those Reasons, there is No More any Excuse for the Turkish Government to eventualy Refuse the Establishment of EU and UNHCR-monitored "Hotspots" inside Turkey itself, with EU AId, when several Key African Countries Agree to do so, Today !

This could Save Human Lives of Refugees/Migrants (Comp. Supra), Help Prevent Deadly Terrorist Attacks in Europe, preserve European Society's Socio-Cultural Cohesion and Peace, be More Logical also from a Cultural/Religious point of view, and even more Proportional and Fair :

- Indeed, Only ... 3 % of Turkey's Population are Immigrants, while, on the Contrary, in Italy Migrants represent More than 9%, in Greece more than 11%, in France 12% and more in Spain, in the UK 13%, and in Germany almost 15%, according to the International Organisation for Migration's official Data !

+ After all, it's particularly through Turkey, and its "porous" Borders that various Armed Groups started and continued a Bloody War against the Syrian Government, (whose Removal Ankara stubornly demands for Years in vain), but also in Iraq (f.ex. around Mosul, the Christian valey of Nivine and towards the Kurdish areas, etc), at the same time that Brutal Islamist Terrorists (as ISIS, various Al Quaida-like Gangs, etc) found ways to Recruit "Jihadists" from Abroad, Logistical Support, various Lucrative illegal Traffics, bring Weapons, etc., as it's Notoriously known, and the Russian Authorities clearly Documented a few Years earlier, even several mainstream but Dissident Turkish Journalists Denounced themselves, with Original Press Investigations' Findings, etc...

Therefore, Ankara's controversial Regime clearly Bears a great part of Responsibility for that Tragic Mess in Syria, etc., undeniably.

And even More for that UnPrecedented, sudden Giant "Tsunami" of more than 1,5 Millions of Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants that mainly Turkish Smugglers threw against Europe since 2015-2016, with manifold Dangerous or Negative Consequences, often Tragic Sufferings, that still Provoke Serious Concerns to all European People until Today, as Many Polls attest until Nowadays.

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And Morocco ?
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Last, but not least, various converging Recent Developments obviously Raise Questions about the probable Need for Morocco also eventually Participate in the present Agreements and Negotiations between leading EU and key African Countries, concerning that Interestig Deal highlighted at Today's Conference in Paris :

Indeed, in Addition to the Fact that Morocco is the Only African Country which has Almost continuous Territorial Links with Europe, and well Beyond its famous Bilateral Deal with Spain on Mass Migration Monitoring, which notoriously worked quite Efficiently until now, it became Recently Obvious that it canNot be Neglected by the EU, if it really wants to Face the Growing Challenged of Mass Asylum Seekers/Irregular Migrants :

- Already, UNHCR and IOM Official Data reveal that the Numbers of such Massive Influx towards Europe became in 2017 much Bigger than before : F.ex., they almost ... DOUBLED on 2017, compared to 2016, the Arrivals of People from Africa Reaching the European Continent, from almost 5.000 to about 10.000 during just the first six Months of the Year.  

+ To this were Added More than 700 African Migrants, equiped with Clubs, Sticks, Stones, etc. and Violently Attacking the Spanish Guards at the Borders between the two Countries, in a Brutal Attempt to Break through the Barriers and Enter inside Europe. About 600 More, were reportedly Rescued by a Spanish Government's Ship, while also "several Dozens" of others managed to Arrive by a makeshift Vessel which reportedly crashed at Andalousia Southern Region's SeaCoast in August, just a few Days ago.    

Followed, Shorty afterwards, even a series of Deadly Islamist Terrorist Attacks inside Europe, Targetting innocent Civilian People, (f.ex. in Spain, Finland, etc), the Perpetrators of which, mostly originated from Morocco, for the first time so numerous, (Comp., f.ex.; : ....).   

      
=> It has, thus, become obvious that Morocco should Not be Ignored in the case of a Wide, Collectively Agreed Joint Mechanism, for Europe and Africa, due to Help Organise and Monitor Mass Migration issues, as it was decided at Today's Paris' Summit, between EU's "Big 4" Countries and Libya, Chad, Mali and Niger from Africa, as well as EU's High Representative for External Action.

Even is Spain was actively included in Today's Summit, Morocco's absence should better be overcome in the foreseable Future, in one way or another, for more Efficiency.

In other words, French President Macron's alleged main Idea, (already supported recently by experienced former President Sarkozy, who met twice Macron earlier), agreed Together with Geman Chancellor Merkel and Italian and Spanish Prime Ministers Gentilone and Rajoy Today, to create EU/UNHCR-backed "Hotspots" in the Countries of Origin and/or Transit, in order to Screen Real Refugees needing EU's Help, while also Stopping Irregular Migration as such, naturaly looks Good, but should, normaly, be applied accross a Wider area, mutatis-mutandis :

- I.e. also on Turkey and probably on Morocco, etc.

 A similar generalized move had, indeed, been already advised by ChristianDemocrat/EPP Party's Heads of State/Government Summit in Madrid, Spain, organized by EPP's President, exprienced former Top EU Parliament's MEP from Strasbourg, Joseph Daul, where both Merkel and Rajoy had participated, as well as by a PanEuropean CoE's Parliamentary Assembly's Resolution, debated and voted in Strasbourg.

Meanwhile, Macron is expected to make an Official Visit to Greece on September 7-8, and fixed Yesterday a RDV with Turkish President Erdogan for a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of UNO's General Assembly in New York, later-on that Same Month, where almost All Heads of State/Government are usually present each year. Elysée's Press Services noted that he spoke also about Syria, but didn't say whether he evoked, already, the above mentioned main Draft Plan Agreed Today in Paris among the Leaders of the 4 Biggest EU27 Member States and concerned African Nations, (Comp. Supra).

Macron did so, while also urging Erdogan to Free a Student Journalist from France, currently Jailed in Turkey. I.e. by pursuing, in parallel, Both a Human Rights and a Geo-Political Agenda, precisely as he's expected to do also in his forthcoming Meeting in Paris, on August 31, with PanEuropean CoE's Secretary General, Thornbjorn Jagland, where Migration, Security and Human Rights issues will probably be associated, inter alia, with Ukraine and other Topical Developments. 

(../..)

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("DraftNews", as already send to "Eurofora" Subscribers/Donors, earlier. A more accurate, full Final Version might be published asap).