Former German chancellor Angela Merkel says in her newly released book that European Union efforts to control migration would have been impossible without cooperation with Turkey, while defending her controversial relationship with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as essential to addressing the “challenge” posed by the migration crisis, Voice of America Turkish edition reported.
In her memoir “Freiheit. Erinnerungen 1954–2021″ (Freedom. Memories 1954–2021), released in 30 languages on Tuesday, Merkel, who stepped down in 2021, gives insights into her controversial relationship with Erdoğan and Turkey, a country she visited 12 times after assuming office in 2005.
The book, which chronicles her 16-year leadership, offers detailed insights into the landmark migration agreement between Turkey and the EU signed in March 2016, with Merkel claiming that no amount of border control or surveillance could have achieved what the Turkish partnership accomplished in reducing dangerous Aegean Sea crossings.
Merkel detailed in her book that she and Erdoğan agreed to establish a working group on the migration crisis during the United Nations summit in New York on September 25, 2015. Subsequently, she met with Erdoğan and then-prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in İstanbul on October 18, 2015, to draft an action plan addressing the irregular migration crisis.
On March 18, 2016 the European Council and Turkey reached an agreement aimed at stopping the flow of irregular migration via Turkey to Europe. According to the agreement, all new irregular migrants and asylum seekers arriving from Turkey in the Greek islands and whose applications for asylum had been declared inadmissible should be returned to Turkey. The EU pledged €3 billion in 2016-2017 and another €3 billion in 2018-2019 to Turkey as its part of the deal.
Merkel said in her book that looking at the map and the realities in the Aegean, it was clear that the developments could only be regulated and controlled with Turkey — there was no room for delay.
“Without an agreement between the EU and Turkey, we would not have been able to permanently and sustainably reduce the number of people setting off to their deaths, and thus put an end to the terrible deaths in the Aegean,” Merkel wrote, adding that “no consistent action against smugglers at sea, no increased control and surveillance at our internal borders, no high and tall fences, as some believe, could reduce the number of people crossing the border.”
Merkel, who was criticized in Germany for being too soft on Erdoğan despite the latter’s “autocratic tendencies,” said she believed Turkey had an important role to play if Europe wanted to meet the challenge of the migration crisis and that is why she negotiated with Erdoğan.
“I saw Erdoğan as a politician who could play a role not only in refugee policy but across the political spectrum,” she said.
Merkel, 70, remembered for her calm and unflappable leadership style, also talked about the dynamics of her relationship with Erdoğan, in the 736-page autobiography co-written with longtime adviser Beate Baumann.
“When there was agreement between us, he was very kind and called me ‘dear friend.’ But when we disagreed, he would speak endlessly against me, pointing out all kinds of contradictions,” she wrote.
Visa liberalization
Merkel also said visa liberalization for Turkish citizens in Europe was a very important issue for Erdoğan in exchange for cooperation on the migrant problem but that it has not materialized.
The EU pledged to extend visa liberalization to Turkey, contingent on the fulfillment of certain requirements such as amending Turkey’s anti-terrorism laws, and to open additional chapters in Turkey’s EU accession process. This commitment was made within the broader framework of cooperation on migration control and mobility management. The lifting of the Schengen visa requirement for Turkish nationals was linked to Turkey meeting 72 specific conditions outlined in the “Roadmap towards the visa-free regime.”
Turkey, however, has refused to revise its anti-terror laws, which Brussels insisted were not compatible with European justice standards, thus deadlocking the visa liberalization part of the deal.
Photo in golden thrones
In her book Merkel also discusses in detail the criticism she faced in Germany for the photos taken during a meeting with Erdoğan at the Yıldız Palace in İstanbul in October 2015. The golden thrones the leaders sat in were at the center of much criticism in the German media, with many accusing Merkel of giving the opportunity to Erdoğan to act like a monarch. She said he was more focused on the content of the meeting than the room’s setting and that the meeting was instrumental in keeping more refugees away from Europe.
“My visit to Istanbul was severely criticized. Two chairs, or rather two golden thrones, were responsible for this. Erdoğan sat on one, and I sat on the other. We sat in these chairs not only during the photographers’ segments but also during our conversation. I thought it was great, but I didn’t focus on the situation outside. Instead, I concentrated on what I wanted to achieve in terms of content.
“But then it was written that ‘a picture is worth a thousand words,’ that I was cowering in front of Erdoğan like a monarch in his palace, and that I would even lower myself to the ground in front of him if necessary. We were about to sign an agreement with Turkey that could have kept more refugees away from us. Worse still, because the visit took place two weeks before Turkey’s parliamentary elections, I was also accused of using my visit to secure electoral support for Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party.”
In response to the criticism, Merkel expressed her frustration, saying that she found the criticism “outrageous” and “partly dishonest” because everyone was expecting her to take action to stop the refugee flow to Europe but were against her negotiating with Erdoğan.
“On the one hand, politicians from the right to the left rightly said that I should not organise the movement of asylum seekers through the Aegean, Greece, the Balkan routes, and Austria to Northern Europe, and that I should do everything in my power to control it. On the other hand, they said, ‘Don’t cooperate with the autocrat in Ankara, and if you do, let it be further away from the elections.’ This was a cheap attitude.”