TURKEY MIGRANT 'BLACKMAIL': Threat to send refugees BACK to EU if visa deal falls through
TURKEY has threatened to send migrants back to countries in the European Union (EU) if a deal to provide citizens visa-free travel falls through.
Turkey has threatened to send migrants back to Europe
Officials in Brussels offered Turkey £2.5billion and visa-free travel by June if it clamps down on the number of migrants making their way into Europe through its borders.
The deal sparked fears Turkey is on its way to becoming a full member of the EU and could lead to an large number of migrants arriving in Britain.
Presidential adviser and a member of Turkey's parliament for the ruling AK Party, Burhan Kuzu, said: "The European Parliament will discuss the report that will open Europe visa-free for Turkish citizens. If the wrong decision is taken, we will send the refugees (back to Europe)."
If the wrong decision is taken, we will send the refugees (back to Europe)
Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who had been a key broker in the migrant deal, resigned over a row with President Tayyip Erdogan.
The country also refused to backtrack on anti-terror laws sparking fears the migrant deal is hanging on by a thread.
Tensions have flared between Erdogan and Davutoglu over the EU deal
Some 1.3million migrants have passed through Turkey to reach Greece and Italy since the start of 2015 but the EU deal has sharply reduced the influx of migrants to the 28-member bloc.
Many members of the European Parliament have criticised the deal.
Malin Bjork, a left-wing Swedish lawmaker said: "This is not about meeting the criteria or not, it's a purely political process in which the EU has shown it is prepared to go very far in accepting violations of human rights and freedoms."
Some 1.3million migrants have passed through Turkey to reach Greece and Italy since 2015
Pakistani refugees escorted by Turkish police arrive from Greece
During a debate in its Strasbourg chamber, members across the political spectrum denounced Turkish "blackmail" over the migrants.
German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said Berlin expected Ankara to meet its side of the migrant accord but declined to speculate on would happen if it did not.