Good news, Bad News or No News: Management of Irregular Migration in Turkey
The EU accession process has created pressure on Turkish authorities to converge with the EU practice and policy priorities in irregular migration. Yet, the EU rules are not simply downloaded into the national structure; rather they are accommodated at the domestic level at different speeds and to varying extents. While Turkish authorities has recently agreed on a common text with the European Commission with regard to a readmission agreement which obliges Turkey to take back large numbers of irregular immigrants and have adopted a comprehensive law on the migration related issues; they delay establishing a civilian border agency with respect to border management and act reluctant to lift the geographical limitation in asylum procedure. Turkey, even takes a step back in compliance with the EU regulations by removing visa requirements for the countries on the EU’s Schengen negative list in recent years. Mostly filtered by domestic priorities and national interests, the compliance with the EU priorities with regard to management of irregular migration varies across different sectors of the policy.