The Turkish military says it is carrying out anti-terrorist operations in the Kurdish south-east of the country. These have resulted in widespread destruction of towns, and displaced thousands of people; estimates ranging from the official figure of 93,000, to 400,000.
This has led to fears in Europe that visa-free travel from Turkey could lead to more claiming asylum, and Sweden’s Minister for Migration says that the last time visa rules were relaxed, many people indeed sought asylum.
Swedish Radio News reports that this refers to the agreement with Serbia and other Balkan countries, which led to many people from the Roma minority seeking asylum in Sweden and Germany.
Minister Morgan Johansson says to Swedish Radio News the French-German proposal for an emergency brake is “interesting and worth looking at. Because we don’t want to end up in the same situation as we did with the western Balkans.”