Brussels, 19/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 20 April, the European Commission will publish an initial report on the implementation of the EU/Turkey agreement on migration, which is based on the principle of sending Syrian asylum seekers back from Greece to Turkey in exchange for the resettlement of Syrian refugees currently in Turkey in the member states of the EU (see EUROPE 11515).
This report, which will appear monthly, will take stock of the progress with the agreement, its strong points and shortcomings, the European institution explained, regarding returns of migrants and asylum seekers and the resettlement of refugees in the EU. In the framework of the reinforcement of bilateral relations between the EU and Turkey, the report will also refer to the criteria to be fulfilled by Ankara in order to obtain a visa liberalisation regime for Turkish citizens by June of this year.
According to one source, the Commission is expected to ask for an increase in returns of migrants to Turkey, with 325 illegal migrants having been returned since 4 April, together with an increased number of resettlements of Syrians by the member states. So far, 79 Syrian refugees have been resettled from Turkey to the EU under the agreement, according to a Commission scoreboard dated Tuesday 19 April.
However, no asylum seekers, Syrian or of any other nationality, have been sent back from Greece to Turkey. The Commission feels that this situation does not mean that the agreement is not working, but that the procedures to be followed are being applied. The Greek authorities are using fast procedures once the ineligibility of the asylum application on Greek soil is noted, but no final decision to this effect has been made. The persons returned our, furthermore, entitled to appeal and therefore claim the right to remain on Greek territory whilst their appeal is being evaluated.
The same source added that the Commission may state that there are a few problems on the Turkish side in dealing with asylum seekers who are not Syrian and who are to be sent back to Turkey. Although Ankara has provided the necessary assurances from a legislative point of view regarding Syrian asylum seekers, conditions for nationals of other countries who cannot yet be sent back to Turkey have still to be discussed.
Visa liberalisation - another sensitive issue
The question of visa liberalisation for Turkish nationals continues to be a particularly sensitive one for the Turkish authorities. In Ankara on Monday 18 April, the Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, threatened to scrap the agreement if the EU does not keep its word and lift visa requirements for Turkish nationals by the end of June.
On Tuesday 19 April, the Commission reiterated its intention to remain within the framework of the commitments made, in other words to make this visa-free regime a reality by the end of June 2016. “We are staying within these parameters”, spokesperson Margaritis Schinas explained.
The visa liberalisation question, which requires Ankara to comply with 72 criteria, was discussed by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and Davutoglu at the headquarters of the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg on Tuesday. The meeting allowed the leaders to “reiterate their common interest in improving” relations between the EU and Turkey, Schinas said. On the question of visas, Juncker stressed that Ankara still had to fulfil all its obligations “to allow the Commission to adopt its proposal in the coming months”. He went on to stress that the Commission would not relax the criteria requested of Turkey.
More generally, Juncker once again stressed the legality of the EU/Turkey migration agreement. “Our plan complies with European and international standards. Every asylum application is dealt with individually. Every person can appeal. The principle of non-refoulement is being respected”, he said. He stressed that “the plan is starting to work”, which can be seen from the fact that since it entered into force “we have seen a clear drop in the number of people crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece”. According to the agency Frontex, 26,460 migrants arrived in Greece in March, half the number announced in February. And over the last 11 days of March (in other words since the start of the application of the agreement), 35,00 people arrived.
The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the Vice-President of the Commission, Frans Timmermans, and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, will meet on Saturday 23 April in Gaziantep (southern Turkey) to visit a refugee camp. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)