Erdogan threatens to throw open borders to refugees
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan threatened today to allow a fresh flood of refugees into Europe after the EU Parliament cast a non-binding vote to end suspend talks on the EU entering the bloc.
"You did not keep your word," Erdogan said in a speech.
"You cried out when 50,000 refugees were at the Kapikule border," he said, referring to the border crossing with Bulgaria. "You started asking what you would do if Turkey would open the gates. Look at me - if you go further, those border gates will be open. You should know that."
Turkey had accepted a deal where they would keep migrants in exchange for accelerated talks on joining the EU and $6.3 billion through 2018.
In 2015, before the deal, 750,000 refugees passed through Turkey on the way to Europe. The UN estimates that 2.7 million refugees are in Turkey.
The vote in European Parliament may make no difference but the idea of using a flood of refugees as leverage -- or even as a trump card -- brings the problems of the negotiations into focus. It also highlights one of the many reasons why Britain is headed for the exits.
If Erdogan were to make good on his threat and unleashed a fresh wave of refugees, it would weigh on the euro on concerns that another wave of social problems and costs would break the elites failing grip on power in Europe.
