ANKARA (Sputnik) – Turkey applied to join the 28-nation European Union in 1987. Negotiations on its accession to the bloc began in 2005. Twenty two EU member states and four non-EU European countries participate in the border-free Schengen Area.EU leaders are meeting with Turkish officials for talks on the migrant crisis. Ankara will be asked to bolster border controls to curb refugee travel to Europe.
The Turkish government estimates that the country currently hosts about 2.5 million refugees, many of them from Syria. It is expected to ask for concessions from Brussels for retaining additional Syrian asylum seekers.
A diplomatic source in Brussels confirmed to RIA Novosti on Tuesday that Ankara planned to use the option of creating new refugee camps on its territory as a bargaining chip to press Europe to open its borders to Turkish travelers.
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Not exactly sure this would be in the best interest of Europe at this time given the migrant crisis and the problems along the Turkish borders that ISIS is causing.