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EU-Turkey Summit: EU-Turkey statement, 18 March 2016

19 March 2016

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As from tomorrow, 20 March 2016 all refugees and migrant not lodging an asylum application successfuly will be returned to Turkey - but how will the EU ensure that Turkey does not carry out collective expulsion (refoulement) and how can it operate before Grece has agreed that Turkey is a safe country (which it is not) to return people to? There are special provisions for Syrians but refugees from other states will returned to the very countires they fled from.

"All new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey into Greek islands as from 20 March 2016 will be returned to Turkey. This will take place in full accordance with EU and international law, thus excluding any kind of collective expulsion. All migrants will be protected in accordance with the relevant international standards and in respect of the principle of non-refoulement. It will be a temporary and extraordinary measure which is necessary to end the human suffering and restore public order. Migrants arriving in the Greek islands will be duly registered and any application for asylum will be processed individually by the Greek authorities in accordance with the Asylum Procedures Directive, in cooperation with UNHCR. Migrants not applying for asylum or whose application has been found unfounded or inadmissible in accordance with the said directive will be returned to Turkey."

See the full text: EU-Turkey statement, 18 March 2016 (pdf)

See: "Critics brand EU deal with Turkey on migrants 'a dark day for humanity (AOL News, link): "But the deal was described as "a dark day for humanity" by human rights group Amnesty International, whose UK director Kate Allen said: "It's absolutely shameful to see leaders seeking to abandon their legal obligations. Forcing refugees back into the hands of the very smugglers they just came from so they can have another go at exploiting them is obviously a madness. There's no way anyone should herald this as a solution."

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