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The final EU/Turkey refugee deal: a legal assessment

18 March 2016

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"It is unfortunate, to say the least, that the EU did not try to ensure beyond doubt that the deal was legal, by putting in place some sort of effective monitoring of Turkish commitments as regards the treatment of refugees and migrants, in particular asking Turkey to fully apply the Geneva Convention to all refugees as a condition of the deal. After all, the EU will now be meeting a significant proportion of the costs of housing refugees in that country. It is even more disturbing that some Member States want to arrange for expedited returns to Libya. Surely before too long, the CJEU will asked to interpret the definition of 'safe third country' in EU asylum law. That finding will be crucial in determining whether it really is legal to return people to Serbia, Turkey, Libya and possibly other countries besides." [emphasis added]

See the full text: The final EU/Turkey refugee deal: a legal assessment (EU Law Analysis, link) by Steve Peers, Professor of Law

And the following has been deleted from a leaked draft: "Migrants having been returned to Turkey will be protected in accordance with the international standards concerning the treatment of refugees and respecting the principle of non-refoulement."

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European Council 17-18 March 2016: Conclusions

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

 

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