WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Leandra Bernstein — The European Union may have been too generous in negotiations with Turkey, exchanging Syrian migrants for visa-free travel for Turkish nationals, UK Member of Parliament Liam Fox told Sputnik.
"I’m not sure we haven’t given too much to Turkey in return," Fox said on Monday of the EU-Turkey agreement that went into effect over the weekend.
Fox added "there will be resentment about the way in which visa-free access to Europe has been strong armed by the Turkish government at a time when its conduct, in terms of press freedom, democracy and human rights, is more questionable than it has been for a long time."
Last week, Brussels and Ankara struck an agreement under which all illegal migrants crossing from Turkey to the EU will be sent back, and for every Syrian returned to Turkey, one Syrian migrant will be resettled in the EU.
Europe has faced a growing migration crisis with migrants and refugees fleeing from Syria and other conflict zones primarily in the Middle East and North Africa.
According to the International Organization for Migration, one million migrants and refugees entered the EU from Turkey in 2015, with more than 143,000 coming so far this year.