Yahoo – AFP,
Lachlan Carmichael, 19 March 2016
 |
Refugees
and migrants arrive on the northern island of Lesbos after crossing
the Aegean
sea from Turkey, on February 23, 2016 (AFP Photo/Aris Messinis)
|
Brussels
(AFP) - Turkish and EU leaders on Friday agreed a "historic" deal for
curbing the influx of migrants that has plunged Europe into its biggest refugee
crisis since the end of World War II.
Under the
deal, all migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey as early as Sunday will be
turned back.
 |
Turkey's
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
(L) talks with EU Council President
Donald Tusk during the EU summit at
headquarters in Brussels on March 18,
2016 (AFP
Photo/John Thys)
|
Turkey
extracted a string of political and financial concessions in exchange for
becoming a bulwark against the flow of desperate humanity heading to Europe
from Syria and elsewhere.
"It is
a historic day because we reached a very important agreement between Turkey and
the EU," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said after the deal was
struck at a summit in Brussels.
"We
today realised that Turkey and the EU have the same destiny, the same
challenges and the same future."
EU
president Donald Tusk said that under the deal, all "irregular"
migrants would be returned to Turkey from Sunday.
For every
Syrian refugee expelled, the EU would resettle one directly from Turkey.
Tusk said
the deal would only work as part of a broader plan, including support for
Greece, the main point of entry for migrants to Europe, and cutting the flow of
refugees through the Balkans to Germany.
"Some
may think this agreement is a silver bullet but reality is more complex,"
said Tusk, who has played a leading role in a crisis that has seen 1.2 million
asylum seekers reach Europe since January 2015.
'Herculean task'
Around
4,000 people including women and children have drowned crossing the Aegean Sea
in flimsy smugglers' boats, including 400 this year alone.
 |
A key part
of the agreement will take effect from Sunday midnight when all
migrants arriving on the Greek islands will be designated for return to Turkey
(AFP
Photo/Simon MALFATTO, Jean Michel CORNU)
|
For its
cooperation to stem the flow, Turkey won an acceleration of its long-stalled
bid for EU membership, the doubling of refugee aid to six billion euros ($6.8
billion) and visa-free travel for its nationals to Europe's Schengen passport-free
zone by June.
But there
remained huge doubts about how to implement such a scheme, not least due to
still often-tense relations between Ankara and Brussels.
"This
is a Herculean task facing us," European Commission chief Jean-Claude
Juncker told the press conference.
He said
some 4,000 border officials and other experts will need to start working
immediately on implementing the deal that will cost the EU up to 300 million
euros over six months.
EU
officials stressed that each application will be treated individually, with
full rights of appeal and proper oversight.
Turkish
officials as well as UNHCR officials will be sent to the Greek islands to
oversee the scheme.
The deal
also envisages major aid for Greece, where tens of thousands of refugees are
already trapped in dire conditions after Balkan countries shut their borders.
The deal
will not affect the 46,000 migrants already in Greece, who will either be
expelled as economic migrants or granted asylum.
'Don't
trade refugees
The United
Nations and rights groups fear the deal could violate international law that
forbids the mass deportation of refugees.
 |
A man
carries wood along the railway tracks in a makeshift camp at the
Greek-Macedonian border, near the Greek village of Idomeni, on March 18,
2016
(AFP Photo/Sakis Mitrolidis)
|
The UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stressed the right to asylum must be
paramount.
"Ultimately,
the response must be about addressing the compelling needs of individuals
fleeing war and persecution. Refugees need protection, not rejection," it
said in a statement.
Amnesty
International set up a sign outside the summit venue saying: "Don't trade
refugees".
The deal a
"historic blow to human rights," Amnesty said.
John
Dalhuisen, Amnesty director for Europe and Central Asia accused the EU of
seeking to "wilfully ignore its international obligations”.
EU states
have expressed concerns about Ankara's human rights record, including its
treatment of the Kurds and a crackdown on critics of the government.
Far from
the smiles in Brussels, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blasted the EU
for taking a "handful of refugees" in contrast to the nearly three
million Turkey is hosting.
Erdogan
also accused the Europeans of supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) days after a bombing in Ankara claimed by Kurdish rebels allegedly linked
to the group.
"European
countries are paying no attention, as if they are dancing in a minefield,"
he said.
 |
Thousands
of migrants are stranded at a makeshift camp in Idomeni on the
Greece-Macedonian border (AFP Photo/Dimitar Dilkoff)
|
But one
major hurdle that was overcome was opposition from Cyprus, which has
long-standing tensions with Turkey over Ankara's refusal to recognise its
government on the divided island.
The migrant
crisis has left Europe increasingly divided, with fears that its Schengen
passport-free zone could collapse as states reintroduce border controls and
concerns over the rise of populism and anti-immigrant sentiment.
Greek
Interior Minister Panagiotis Kouroumblis described the overwhelmed border town
of Idomeni where many of the migrants are camped out as a "modern-day
Dachau".
Some
migrants, speaking in a rain-sodden makeshift camp, told AFP said they would
stay, others that they would try to get across the border, and others said they
were against moving to reception centres.
Imen, a
17-year-old girl travelling with her brother, mother and two aunts, said,
"We have to meet our father who is in Germany now. He left a few months
ago to wait for us there. What are we going to do?"
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