European Commission's agency meets Ankara's agenda: why Turkey is ready for a readmission agreement

Abstract

In January 2011, the European Commission and the Turkish government announced an agreement that obliges Turkey to take back illegal immigrants who have used Turkey as a transit country on their way to the European Union (EU). Thus, Turkey would fulfil a costly EU demand with no guarantee of the reward of EU membership. The key to understanding the new readiness of the AKP government for a readmission agreement after several years of unsuccessful negotiations is the agency of the European Commission. Its offer of a visa liberalization dialogue in exchange for a readmission agreement, despite the opposition of some member states to such an approach in the case of Turkey, has strongly influenced the cost-benefit calculation of the AKP government. In addition to this external incentive, the new salience of migration issues on the domestic agenda has facilitated the engagement of the Turkish government in readmission negotiations.