TURKEY cannot join the European Union (EU) in its current state, Brussels chief Jean-Claude Juncker has said in a furious outburst.
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The EU boss said in the wake of the failed military coup and President Erdogan’s current purge Turkey is in no position to consider joining the bloc.
But despite the outburst Mr Juncker said it would be “unwise” to freeze negotiations with Ankara, a move which could lead the EU-Turkey migrant deal to implode.
The EU sealed the controversial deal in March, in a plan to halt migrants travelling to Europe in return for visa-free travel for Turkish people.
Mr Juncker said: "Turkey, in the state it is currently in, cannot become a member of the European Union and certainly not if it reintroduces the death penalty as some are demanding."
"I don't think it would be helpful if we would unilaterally tell Turkey that the negotiations are over."
Concerns have been raised that if talks fail Turkey could simply open its Western border and allow millions of asylum seekers currently in Turkish camps to enter Europe.
As many as 8,000 migrants a week arrived in Greece in March but numbers have stabilised to around 495 a week since the EU-Turkey deal was struck, according to figures by the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees.
But there has been an increase in migrants trying to reach Italy.
Recently Turkish officials have threatened to scrap the deal claiming Ankara is yet to receive the £6 billion in aid promised as part of the agreement.
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Political commentator Thorsten Denkler wrote in German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung: “If the agreement bursts, will the thousands of refugees from Turkey make their way back to Europe?
“At present, the message to the more than three million refugees in Turkey is clear: The irregular road to the EU is virtually hopeless.
“Those who try to reach the beach of a Greek island by boat are risking their life - and also have to expect to then be returned. The money that smugglers take from the fugitives would have been spent in vain. For the vast majority this is too high a price.
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“This message is the psychological core of the deal. And although Greece has only sent back 498 people since the beginning of the agreement, and actually hasn't sent anyone back since June 16, it seems to work.”
Mr Denkler claims the number of migrants heading to Greece will increase if the EU-Turkey deal fails, forcing Brussels to take control of the crisis.
He said: "The number of refugees heading out to Greece will probably increase though. Then the EU would be required to not leave Greece alone with the problems.
“They should also be better distributed. That, however, seems utopian. The EU is too divided to agree on a solution here.
“For the refugees in Turkey and Greece, who are desperate to get to central and northern Europe, there is currently only one way: they have to take high risks. The new half way point is Italy.
“Some are already trying to reach Greece by boat from Greece or to go directly from Turkey to Italy. Since the EU-Turkey deal, the number of refugees who have attempted this every this month has almost doubled. In April it was about 9,000 people. Then, the number rose to more than 19,000.
“For German Chancellor Angela Merkel the bursting of the deal with Turkey would be a bitter personal defeat. She decided, despite a lot of criticism from within the party as well as from the opposition, for a deal with the unloved Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an - to ultimately save the free movement within the EU.
“The deal has also covered up conflicts within the EU. However they are not resolved. They would also immediately resurface if the deal falls through.”
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/696763/Juncker-warns-Turkey-cannot-join-EU-current-state-refuses-scrap-talks?
