Russia, Turkey, Israel : Which Is a Real EU Ally?

The EU has hired Turkey to prevent people crossing the Aegean Sea to Greek islands. Under a deal agreed yesterday, Turkey will receive €3 billion and political concessions in return for keeping refugees in Turkey. Most important, talks on Turkey joining the EU will be revived. Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu said it was an "historic day" in Turkey-EU relations. Under the deal, Turkish citizens may by October 2016 be able to travel without visas in the EU's passport-free Schengen zone. The €3 billion is earmarked to help Syrian refugees in Turkey, which has spent $8 billion helping 2 million migrants already there. Davutoglu said : "We are paying the price of the failure of the UN system to solve the problem of the Syrian crisis at the earlier stages of the crisis." Some EU members hesitated about the Turkey deal, given serious concerns about its respect for democracy and the rule of law, but European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker said the deal "would not lead to a situation where we forget about the main differences and divergences we have with Turkey - human rights and freedom of the press." Hours after sealing the deal, Turkish authorities rounded up 1,300 migrants planning to sail to Greece from hideouts near Aegean beaches and forests. Turkish gendarmes apprehended Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians and Afghans, and three traffickers, coastguard officials told Reuters. The migrants were sent to a repatriation center where some could face deportation. In 2015, a record 500,000 migrants have travelled through Turkey trying to reach EU's Greece by boat. ~~~~~ While the EU was buying Turkish border control services, Israel was suspending contacts with EU entities involved in peace efforts with the Palestinians, because the EU now requires 'origin' labelling of exports from Israeli West Bank settlements headed for the EU. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the foreign ministry to reassess "the involvement of EU bodies in everything that is connected to the diplomatic process with the Palestinians." And, "Until completion of the reassessment, the Prime Minister has ordered a suspension of diplomatic contacts with the EU and its representatives in this matter." An Israeli ministry official also said Israel would stop assisting EU-sponsored projects intended for the Palestinians. EU officials played down the significance of the Israeli move, saying it is only a suspension which could be lifted soon. Brussels said the new EU labelling guidelines were technical, but Israel branded them discriminatory and damaging to peace efforts with the Palestinians. The EU position is that the lands Israel has occupied since the 1967 War - including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights - are not part of internationally recognized Israeli borders. So, settlement goods can't be labelled "Made in Israel." Netanyahu called it "hypocritical and a double standard," saying the EU has not taken similar steps in hundreds of territorial conflicts elsewhere, adding, "The European Union should be ashamed of itself." The labelling affects goods worth $50 million a year -- a fifth of the $200-$300 million worth of goods produced in settlements each year for sale outside the EU -- but small compared to the $30 billion of goods and services traded annually between Israel and the EU. ~~~~~ Dear readers, Israeli West Bank farmers and wine growers worried about the impact on their business have begun diversifying into markets in Russia and Asia to escape EU labelling. In another Russian move, Prime Minister Netanyahu stressed the importance of Israeli-Russian military cooperation to prevent "unnecessary accidents" at a meeting with President Putin in Paris, while Putin praised the "mechanism of cooperation" established in relation to Russia's Syrian military operations. Israel doesn't seek a Russian detente, but it has been misused by the EU and UN, whose actions strongly favor Palestine despite its nonstop terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians. It is time for the EU to treat Israel fairly. Turkey is an employee. Israel is an ally.