Posted on 06/23/2012 10:57:45 PM PDT by Olog-hai
Turkey says future visa-free travel will work out well because Turks no longer want to live in the EU.
(Turkey's) European affairs minister Egemen Bağış told EUobserver on Friday (22 June) that Turks these days travel to EU capitals "to spend [money]" in shops and hotels.
"In the past, when Turks were asked do you want to live in Europe, 80 percent would say Yes. Now, 85 percent say No. Turkish citizens feel there is more hope in Turkey; better job opportunities," he said.
He noted that in 2010, 27,000 Turks went to live in Germany, but 35,000 German citizens moved to Turkey.
He added that "many" of the 5.5 million Turks who live in the EU are considering going to Turkey to seek a better life for themselves and their children.
Bağış spoke after EU countries earlier in the week agreed plans for visa-free travel by 2014 or 2015.
In return for the visa deal, Turkey is to implement a "readmission" pactextra measures for stopping migrants from as far afield as China or Pakistan sneaking into the EU.
Turkey currently intercepts 70,000 people a year trying to get into Greece or Bulgaria. The number "could easily double or triple" once the new measures are in place, (Bağış) said.
The EU visa deal will also see Turkey sign an "operational agreement" with the EU's joint police body, Europol.
(Excerpt) Read more at euobserver.com ...
35k mostly retired German citizens,many of whom are ethnic Turks, moved to Turkey.
Don't hold your breath Mr Prime Minister waiting on those 5.5M Turks to return to Turkey.
Best thing that could happen to Europe if they did move back...
They should have never been let into the EU in the firt place.
I am sure most Germans are happy with this
When they started the Gastarbeiter (Guest Worker) program many decades ago, Turks were supposed to return home in a few years. They did not...and brought their families over....and stayed in Germany...collecting govt assistance...and becoming a major crime problem
Anyone who mentions a “Guest Worker” or Temporary Worker program in the US should be deported.....Germany has proved it does not work
This is just cheap Turkey-talk. I don’t see any retun-migration of millions of Turks from Germany, any time soon.
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