As Turkey declares emergency after the failed coup, the number of purged has reached 90,000. The EU has stated that any return to the death penalty will bar Turkey from becoming its member. The U.S. has warned that NATO membership would be jeopardized if Turkey leaves its democratic path. Which begs the question of whether Turkey was ever really a democracy in the first place. More importantly, since when was democracy a criteria for NATO? But, finally, the most important thing bothering political analysts is how this will affect the refugees and the future of the EU?

The EU and Turkey sealed a deal a few months back to control and stop the flow of migrants crossing over from Turkey to mainland Europe. The deal was sealed at a breakneck pace and criticized by human rights organizations and aid agencies. Here were the basics of the deal: Turkey will have to stop all migrants who are not Syrian and will have to take back everyone, including Syrians who pay human traffickers to reach European shores. Also the EU will pay Turkey a large chunk of money every year to pay for the maintenance of refugees already in camps spread across Turkey. In return, the EU will take in 72,000 refugees every year, but only directly from Turkey.

The deal was criticized almost immediately from almost every quarter. Critics pointed out that first of all, there is zero logistical strength in the EU to carry out massive monitoring operations in such a vast coastal region. An operation that size would not only need to seal off the entire Aegean and Mediterranean, but would also require thousands of border guards to monitor the Greek islands. Secondly, it was criticized in legal terms as the taking of 72,000 refugees is arbitrary and raises questions about the selection procedure and other legal hazards regarding who will get accepted and who won't.

Turkey, facing terrible economic pressure due to the millions of migrants in refugee camps as well as a growing threat from both ISIS and the Kurds, has started to retaliate heavily and crack down inside the country. This has resulted in siege-like conditions inside Turkey, with heavy handed governmental crackdown and alleged rights abuse. But on the other hand, Europe doesn't care about human rights when it is in direct confrontation with European interests. This is significant and here's why.

Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the eventual solidification of the European Union, Europe has tried to portray itself as a promoter of a rights-based approach, transcending nationalism and sovereignty. Its liberal world order was based on a heavy handed ideation and promotion of human rights at home and the preaching of liberal virtues abroad. For a couple of decades it looked like this approach might endure - until it all came crumbling down first with the Arab spring and then with the Russian hammering of Georgia and Ukraine in East Europe. The EU thought that if they keep out of geo-politics, they would have their fortress in Europe. Unfortunately geopolitics refused to stay away. As Leon Trotsky once said - and I paraphrase - Europe might not be interested in war, but war was interested in Europe.

Now, after the rise of populist parties all across Europe, borders are going up again, and nationalism and sectarian identity is back in vogue. People don't call themselves European anymore, but by their own ethnicity. After a million migrants from places as far away as the Ivory Coast and Pakistan forced their way in, Europe realized that they need both Russia and Turkey as well as the dodgy regimes in the Middle East to keep the geo-ethnic turmoil from spreading. The terrorist attacks in France and the counter-right wing backlash and riots across East Europe and Germany also hardened the realist stance of the politicians who realized that they can't accept refugees from all across the world.

So the Turkish deal was important for Europe more than it was for Turkey, as it faces a nationalist reprisal across the continent. It was not the only one, and more such deals will come. Europe deviated from the U.S. when it came to AIIB and China. It was a strong hint that economics is more important than geo-politics. Now here's the other hint. In dealing with Russia over the Syrian ceasefire, Europe accepted the legitimacy of the Assad regime. In overlooking Turkey's domestic situation, Europe signaled once again that when survival is at stake due to geopolitics, idealism flies out of the window. And that's exactly why Europe is helpless in dealing with Turkey, even when human rights are at stake.

Sumantra Maitra is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SumantraMaitra.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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