Negotiating migration in the midst of a refugee crisis - Turkey and the EU

Turkey is currently hosting more than two million Syrian refugees and the number is likely to grow in the near future. Most refugees, who tried to get to Europe in since 2014 are coming to the EU through Turkey. In November 2015, the EU and Turkey signed a document, which should improve the coordination of their efforts to better manage and to limit the flow of people to Europe. Especially limiting the flow is the wish of all EU member states. The paper evaluates the situation of Syrian refugees in Turkey since the outbreak of the Syrian war in 2011 and analyzes the feasibility of Turkey-EU agreement. It claims that other than the much needed promised financial assistance, Turkey needs experts on the ground to direct the activities and most importantly it needs an accompanying relocation plan, which would enable the EU to legally accept a certain number of refugees. Without such a relocation plan, Turkey will not be able to satisfactorily manage its numerous refugee community and it could even lead to a destabilization of the country itself due for instance to the connection between some of the Syrian opposition groups and the Kurdish Workers' Party and growing domestic political and economic instability. Relocation plan is also one the key instruments in providing the Syrian refugees in the so called first countries with a legal opportunity to obtain asylum in the EU while giving the EU a chance to screen them before their arrival.