Brussels, 02/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 2 March, the European Commission announced that Greece was in the process of sending 308 irregular migrants, mainly Moroccans, Algerians and Tunisians back to Turkey.
This announcement comes a few days before the EU/Turkey summit on the migration crisis (see other article), which seeks to demonstrate that European migration crisis management will also be accompanied by a migrant return policy for those who cannot claim protection in the European Union, their country of origin or transit.
In a press release, the Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “If we want to address the challenges of the refugee crisis successfully we need to get back to an orderly management of the migration flows: We have to make sure that those who are in need of protection will receive it, but it has to be clear as well that those who have no right to stay in the EU will be quickly and effectively returned”
These returns are being organised as part of the bilateral readmission agreement between Greece and Turkey, with the assistance of the Commission. The readmission agreement between the EU and Turkey is due to be up and running in June and will introduce the conditions for Turkish citizens' access to a visa-free regime when they travel to the EU for short-term periods. The EU/Turkey action plan on migration includes a specific section on return policies for “economic migrants” to their countries of origin or transit (see EUROPE 11441). (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic and Mathieu Bion)