Turkey's Migration Policies Regarding Syrians after the Arab Spring: The Perspective of the European Union

Abstract

TURKEY’S MIGRATION POLICIES REGARDING SYRIANS AFTER THE ARAB SPRING: THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The problematic of the present study was the effects of the European Union on the policies of Turkey towards mass migration after the Syrian crisis. Firstly, the migration policies of Turkey and the European Union regarding the Syrian refugees after the Syrian crisis were discussed in this context.  Then, the migration policies of Turkey regarding Syrians were evaluated in terms of the European Union. The scope of this study assumes that the EU’s various effects on the migration policies of Turkey in the post-Syrian crisis had progressed for “externalizing” the control over migration by preventing irregular movement through Turkey as the EU considered Turkey as a “buffer zone”. It is concluded at the end of the study that Turkey took important steps to regulate the legal status of Syrians, to cover their needs, to prevent the security threat caused by the crisis itself, and therefore faced a huge financial burden. It was also found that the European Union was also pleased with the hospitality and humanitarian approach of Turkey towards the Syrians. However, because of the fact that the European Union did not fulfill its commitments to Turkey properly, and did not give due importance to the humanitarian crisis in Syria, it was determined that the bilateral relations had gone through a painful process.

Keywords: The Arab Spring, European Union, Migration, Syria, Turkey.