Erdogan Threatens to Let Migrant Flood Into Europe Resume

Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to allow migrants to cross into Europe again, apparently in response to a move to suspend talks on Turkey’s membership in the European Union, the New York Times reported. According to an earlier agreement, Turkey would receive up to €6 billion (about $6.3 billion) through 2018 in exchange for its cooperation on reducing the flood of migrants.

Since the EU-Turkey agreement was reached in March, crossings from Turkey into Europe dropped from 2,000 daily arrivals to below 100. The agreement called for acceleration of talks on Turkey’s joining the Union, but on Thursday the European Parliament voted to suspend the acceleration, a decision that angered many in Turkey – including, it seems, the country’s President.