EU-Turkey migrant deal is unlikely to succeed

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Eu Accession ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Take Back ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
The Eu

Significance The essence of the deal is that Turkey has agreed to take back migrants who arrive on Greek islands or are intercepted on the Aegean as of yesterday. In exchange, the EU has agreed to resettle a limited number of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey, increase funding to Turkey to care for refugees and speed up visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens and EU accession talks with Turkey. Impacts EU officials will be rushed to the Greek islands to assist Greece in hearing expedited asylum claims. The deal may lead to further tension between EU countries as some may be unwilling to accept refugees to be resettled from Turkey. Rushed visa liberalisation for Turks may lead to increased migration from Turkey.

Turkish-EU migrant policies will continue to diverge

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Press Conference ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Eu Accession ◽  
Member States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Angela Merkel ◽  
The Eu

Significance German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany is "ready to offer support" on four Turkish demands in return for cooperating with the EU in the migrant crisis. At a joint press conference in Istanbul yesterday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu repeated Ankara's four conditions for implementing an action plan against the influx of Syrian refugees into Europe. It wants more EU aid for those refugees inside Turkey; three chapters opened in Turkey's EU accession negotiations; visa liberalisation for Turks travelling to the EU; and a seat for Turkey at EU summits. Impacts Erdogan's resentment over EU condemnations of growing authoritarianism is so deep that any EU softening will have little impact. Davutoglu and Erdogan present Turkey as so important globally, that the EU is desperate that it join; they have no interest in accession. Several EU member states have severe reservations about visa liberalisation, funding aid and opening new accession chapters.

Russia will seek influence in Moldova's Gagauz region

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
European Parties ◽  
Potential Pressure ◽  
The Eu

Significance However, the June 14 local elections resulted overall in the pro-European parties winning 56.5%, with the pro-Russians securing 31.5%. The result will be a relief for the pro-European camp, which had feared that the ongoing banking scandal -- which has seen 1 billion dollars go missing and the resignation on June 12 of Prime Minister Chiril Gaburici -- could portend an upsurge in support for pro-Russian groups. However, despite the pro-European win, Moldova's Gagauz region remains one of Russia's strongest supporters and will remain a potential pressure point. Impacts Russia's enduring prominence in Gagauzia's political landscape will give Moscow a foothold in Moldovan politics. Russia's interest in Moldovan politics will prompt Moldovan supporters of European integration to speed up that process. The EU will have to continue to support Moldova's economy, if only to match Russia's economic support for Gagauzia.

Critical EU report on Turkey may trigger 'Turexit'

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Customs Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
East Mediterranean ◽  
Eu Accession ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
Economic Upturn ◽  
The Eu

Significance Turkey's faltering EU accession process looks more at risk than ever, following Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn's warning that Ankara had "clearly chosen to move away from Europe, not closer to it". Hahn was presenting the European Commission's 2016 Enlargement Package, which is much more critical of Turkey than of the six Western Balkans countries that are either accession candidates like Turkey or potential candidates. Yet when it comes to terminating Turkey's candidacy, both the Turkish and EU authorities want the other to make the move. In the short term, some EU capitals fear a wave of migrants should Ankara stop cooperating in policing the Aegean; in the longer term, Turkey's economy could suffer. Impacts The EU's interest in Western Balkan security, stability and prosperity will keep enlargement to these countries on track, at least formally. However, the Dutch referendum vote against Ukraine's association agreement shows popular feeling spreading in the EU against enlargement. Turkey's customs union with the EU underpins its recent economic upturn; it is hard to see it continuing without the prospect of membership. Resumed use of the East Mediterranean route depends on Turkey but also on migrants' hopes of being able to cross borders further north.

Common EU migration policy will be hard to achieve

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Illegal Immigration ◽  
Migration Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
To Come ◽  
Run Up ◽  
East West ◽  
The Eu

Significance The EU is still struggling to formulate a coordinated response to the migration crisis, but it has managed to make significant cuts in illegal immigration by tightening control of its external borders and reducing the number of irregular crossings of the Mediterranean. Impacts An EU-Africa summit in November will review measures to prevent people from trying to come to Europe in the first place. The number of people crossing the Mediterranean has fallen, but for each individual attempting the journey the risk of dying has increased. The sense of being abandoned by other EU countries could boost Euroscepticism in the run-up to next year’s election in Italy. Conflicts over migration policy are likely to deepen the east-west divide within the EU.

Bulgaria will push for Western Balkans’ EU integration

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Prime Minister ◽  
European Council ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Commission President ◽  
Positive Light ◽  
The Eu

Subject Bulgaria’s assumption of the EU presidency. Significance European Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker used the official inauguration of Bulgaria’s six-month stint in the EU presidency to demonstrate support for Bulgaria and its Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, and thus deflect widespread scepticism and criticism of Bulgaria’s EU trajectory since accession in 2007. Their hosts responded by underlining their unflinching support for EU institutions and initiatives (notably on migration quotas), and playing up Bulgaria’s stabilising role regarding the Western Balkans and Turkey. Impacts During its EU presidency, Bulgaria’s establishment will be most attentive to criticism coming from EU institutions and leading EU countries. The presidency will focus on showing Bulgaria in a positive light, while avoiding drawing attention to its reform deficit. Bulgaria's influence over problem areas and countries is limited and contingent on factors mostly beyond its control.

'Golden visas' will persist despite EU clampdown

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Public Knowledge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transparency International ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Background Checks ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Eu

Subject The 'golden visa' controversy in the EU. Significance The European Commission's announcement on October 10 that it would investigate so-called 'golden visa' schemes follows a report by Global Witness and Transparency International warning that insufficient applicant background checks exposed the EU to large-scale money laundering and corruption. Impacts Greater public knowledge of golden visas will increase domestic pressure on governments. Scandals could worsen relations between the EU and non-EU countries. Applications for visas in the United Kingdom will likely decline if there is a Brexit deal.

Certification of cheeses and cheese products origin by EU countries

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (7) ◽  
pp. 1843-1858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Šárka Velčovská ◽  
Tomáš Sadílek
Keyword(s):  
Research Study ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Similar Distribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Protected Designation Of Origin ◽  
Cheese Products ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
The Eu

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) utilization on European Union (EU) cheese market. Design/methodology/approach – Secondary data comes from the database of origin and registration. In total, 235 product names registered in the database for cheeses and cheese products were analyzed according to type of label and country of origin. To discover a dependences between the variables, χ2 test and contingency coefficients were calculated. Hierarchical clustering method enabled to identify the clusters of countries with similar distribution of products in the database. Findings – More than 80 percent of cheeses and cheese products are certified with PDO. Leading countries in number of certified products are France and Italy. Taking into account all product classes in the database, only 6 percent of all PGIs, 33 percent of PDOs and 15 percent of TSGs were awarded for cheeses and cheese products. A middle weak correlation between the number of certified products and the country of origin was confirmed. Research limitations/implications – The number of certified products is continuously increasing, their distribution between countries may change slightly over time. Only cluster analysis and two criteria of comparison were used. Practical implications – To local food producers, the findings provide a more deep insight to the EU cheese market. It could stimulate their effort in products certification. Originality/value – The paper brings findings about PDO/PGI/TSG utilization for cheese products in EU countries. There is not research study carried out from the same perspective.

Shadow economy and tax evasion in the EU

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Friedrich Schneider ◽  
Konrad Raczkowski ◽  
Bogdan Mróz
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Tax Evasion ◽  
Shadow Economy ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Statistical Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
The Eu

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to explore size of the shadow economy of 31 European Countries in 2014 and size of the shadow economy of 28 European Union countries over 2003-2014 (in per cent of official GDP). An additional objective is to identify tax evasion, as the problem of all the EU countries, answering the questions how better combat the tax fraud. Design/methodology/approach – Estimates of the shadow economy for all 28 European Union countries and other three countries from Europe, i.e. Norway, Switzerland and Turkey – MIMIC method was applied. Findings – The average size of the shadow economy in 28 EU countries was 22.6 per cent in 2003 and decreased to 18.6 per cent (of official GDP) in 2014. We also consider the most important driving forces of the shadow economy. The biggest ones are with 14.6 per cent unemployment and self-employment, followed by tax morale with 14.5 per cent and GDP growth with 14.3 per cent. The proportion of tax evasion (accounting for indirect taxation and self-employment activities) was on average 4.2 per cent (of official GDP) in Poland, 1.9 per cent in Germany and 2.9 per cent in the Czech Republic. Research limitations/implications – The MIMIC statistics do not address a large part of the wholly illegal economy (of typically criminal nature) and, accordingly, it is not an absolute magnitude of the whole unofficial economy. However, it does not seem that other, alternative, methods of measuring the unofficial economy are better in individual terms. Practical implications – Current statistical research should lead to practical acceptance in the framework of need for developing better organizational & legal ways for multi-level governance within the European Union, leading to effective methods of counteracting – in particular intra-Union fraud. In addition, the presentation of a review of typology of the main theories and studies regarding the unofficial economy aspects relating to tax evasion constitutes a practical review of the pursued research areas. Social implications – Safeguarding the national economy as a whole, by seeking ways of reducing the scope of shadow economy. Originality/value – Both regarding presentation of the latest shadow economy estimates and typology of its main studies and theories.

New Turkish Cypriot leader is chance for settlement

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Eu Accession ◽  
Content Type ◽  
International Support ◽  
Turkish Cypriot ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Eu

Significance Reunion of the island is now an option, for the first time since the Turkish invasion of 1974. There is strong international support, but designing a deal acceptable to both sides may be more difficult than some politicians and public opinion on both sides suppose. Tough choices and sophisticated compromises will be necessary in the next few months and may not be forthcoming. Yet among both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, there are expectations that a settlement could revitalise the island, where both sides' economies are stagnating. Impacts Agreement would ease decades-old tensions between Greece and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, benefiting NATO and the EU. However, a settlement would not significantly unblock the path of Turkey's EU accession bid. Cyprus would become a more appealing destination for foreign investment and tourism. With left-wing politicians on both sides deciding the deal, NATO and US interests would have to be safeguarded during talks. Turkey must decide how to respond to the unwinding of a four decades-old foreign policy.

Turkey's EU accession process is sick but not dead

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
The United States ◽  
Customs Union ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Think Tank ◽  
Eu Accession ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Eu

Subject The prospects for Turkey's EU membership bid. Significance Trading and investment links between Turkey and the EU will continue to be strong. The economy of Turkey looks much healthier than those of EU Mediterranean states. Its leverage is much greater than a decade ago, while the EU now also regularly acknowledges Turkey's geo-strategic importance as an ally. The way is open for further economic integration beyond the Customs Union in primary agricultural products and services. A sign that Turkey's accession aspirations are still alive is that 2015 marks the first phase of an EU accession plan. Nevertheless, a leading Brussels think-tank, the Centre for European Policy Studies, has forecast that the hobbled accession negotiations will be "halted" on their tenth anniversary in October. Impacts With the rise of Islamic State, the United States and NATO will try hard to keep Turkey on side and avert outright rupture with the EU. Turkey's attraction as a destination for trade, direct investment and the money markets will persist despite the EU membership stand-off. Tighter control of the judiciary and restrictions on freedom of expression will increase the country's isolation from EU public opinion. Defining itself more along Islamic lines, Turkey will have less interest in pro-EU symbolism or gestures implying a Western orientation. Turkey will vociferously attack perceived Islamophobia in the EU, sometimes damaging bilateral relations with EU member states in so doing.

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