On Its Eighth Anniversary: The EU-Turkey Deal - From Externalization to Digitalization

Abstract

The article provides a critical review of the EU-Turkey deal on its eighth anniversary. Despite initial success in reducing irregular migration, the deal’s shortcomings have led to a resurgence in arrivals and challenges in its implementation. Criticisms focus on the violation of international law and human rights. Moreover, the article shows how the deal reinforces externalization and digitalization policies in migration management, while raising concerns about accountability, transparency, and discrimination. Although digital technologies offer new tools for border control, their deployment has sparked ethical and legal debates regarding their impact on migrants’ rights. Overall, the article argues for a re-evaluation of migration policies, emphasizing the importance of a rights-based approach and genuine collaboration to address the complex challenges posed by displacement, detention, externalization and digitalization.

Keywords

• The EU-Turkey Deal
• externalization
• digitalization
• the EU
• Turkey

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