ESI: The Merkel-Samsom Plan – A proposal for the Syrian refugee crisis

This follows two recent ESI newsletters on the refugee issue:

Saving lives in the Aegean (18 September 2015), where we argue that
the way forward lies in an agreement between EU member states, led by
Germany, and Turkey to share the burden of hosting Syrian refugees
through relocation of hundreds of thousands from Turkey to the EU.
Refugees as a means to an end – The EU's most dangerous man (24
September 2015), where we warn of how a resurgent and anti-Muslim
European right is using the refugee crisis for political advantage.

In recent weeks, the realisation has grown in many European capitals
that, without Turkish support, no solution to the refugee crisis is
possible. However, the proposals currently debated in European policy
circles – from building fences around Europe to solving the Syrian
crisis at source – are vague and hopelessly impractical.

The new ESI proposal rests on the proposition that there are two
indispensable players in any solution to this crisis: Germany and Turkey.

In the current political climate, there is little that European Union
institutions can bring to the table. For this reason, it is Germany that
must take the lead. We also explain why an agreement between Berlin and
Ankara is in the security interest of Turkey.

http://www.esiweb.org/index.php?lang=en&id=67&newsletter_ID=97

http://www.esiweb.org