Schulz: Turkey key player in solving refugee crisis

European Parliament President Martin Schulz said Syrian refugees in Turkey were safer than they would be in Europe. He considers Turkey a key country in handling the current refugee crisis.

His remarks came a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel's meetings with the Turkish Prime Minister and President in Istanbul to discuss joint action to stem the refugee influx into Europe.

In an interview with the Rheinische Post (RP) newspaper, Schulz said he supported Merkel's refugee policy and called for greater flexibility in the federal government's budgetary policies.

In response to the question of whether Europe should work with Erdoğan to slow the refugee influx into Europe, Schulz said that Turkey was a key country in addressing the refugee crisis.

He said that Europe should cooperate with Turkey, while highlighting that Turkey was hosting 2.5 million refugees and had already spent $7 million on them. Schulz emphasized that almost 600,000 refugees are currently living in camps in Turkey's southeastern provinces.

“Regarding their care of refugees, Turkey is better than many EU countries," he said. He drew examples from some steps taken by Turkish authorities to take care of Syrian refugees. As an example, he said that Kilis, a Turkish-Syrian border town of 103,000 inhabitants, was hosting 125,000 refugees. “There are primary and secondary schools too," he said.

Turkey and EU have been negotiating for weeks to find a solution to the crisis as EU leaders offer more financial aid to Ankara for refugees.

“I think it is reasonable to provide financial help to Turkey," he said.

He supported Turkey's proposal for visa-free travel, saying that easing of travel restrictions is especially important for international business.

He backed Merkel's policy declaring Turkey a safe country.

“Syrian refugees are safe in Turkey," he said in the interview.

Both political and economic policies are important to solve the crisis, he said while criticizing the fact that EU member states had yet to agree to pass a resolution on distributing 160,000 refugees among themselves.

He said that Europe did not have sufficiently developed legal standards for asylum seekers and temporary protection seekers.

Europe attempts to collect immigrants, asylum seekers and those who look for temporary protection under the umbrella of political persecution, he noted. He suggested that Europe should develop a single law which would apply to all three groups.