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EU-Turkey refugee deal gives Erdogan case of 'political amnesia'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would like to forget that part of the refugee deal with the European Union involves amending the country's Anti-Terror Law.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom pose during the Turkey-EU Readmission Agreement Signing Ceremony in Ankara December 16, 2013. Turkey and the European Union signed an agreement on Monday allowing EU governments to send back illegal immigrants crossing into Europe from Turkey in a move highlighting a thaw in relations between Ankara and the 28-member bloc.REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTX16KRY
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a recent bout of political amnesia that sent a strong signal that the refugee deal reached March 18 between outgoing Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the European Union (EU) is under threat from Ankara. What brought on this spell and how does it put strain on the deal?

Erdogan’s problem is not with the refugee deal itself, under which Ankara agreed to re-admit Syrian refugees who reach the EU via Turkey. Rather, what bothers him is a related issue — an accord envisaging visa-free travel for Turkish citizens in the EU’s Schengen zone that Davutoglu signed on Dec. 16, 2013, while he was foreign minister and Erdogan prime minister. It was Davutoglu who linked the visa agreement to the refugee deal, and it is this connection that contributed to the amnesia threatening the refugee deal.

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