EVTurkeyStatement18/3/2016

DRAFT16/03/201615:30

TodaytheMembersoftheEuropeanCouncilmetwiththeirTurkishcounterpart.Thiswasthethird
meetingsinceNovember2015dedicatedtodeepeningTurkeyEUrelationsaswellasaddressing
themigrationcrisis.

TheMembersoftheEuropeanCouncilexpressedtheirdeepestcondolencestothepeopleofTurkey
followingthebombattackinAnkaraonSundayandreiteratedtheircontinuedsupporttofight
terrorisminallitsforms.

TurkeyandtheEuropeanUnionreconfirmedtheircommitmenttotheimplementationoftheirjoint
actionplanactivatedon29November2015.Muchprogresshasbeenachievedalready,including
Turkey'sopeningofitslabourmarkettoSyriansundertemporaryprotection,theintroductionof
newvisarequirementsforSyriansandothernationalities,steppedupsecurityeffortsbytheTurkish
coastguardandpoliceandenhancedinformationsharing.Moreover,theEuropeanUnionhasbegun
disbursingthe3billioneurosoftheFacilityforRefugeesinTurkeyforconcreteprojectsandwork
hasadvancedonvisaliberalisationandintheaccessiontalks,includingtheopeningofChapter17
lastDecember.On7March2016,Turkeyfurthermoreagreedtoaccepttherapidreturnofall
migrantsnotinneedofinternationalprotectioncrossingfromTurkeyintoGreeceandtotakeback
allirregularmigrantsinterceptedinTurkishwaters.TurkeyandtheEUalsoagreedtocontinue
steppingupmeasuresagainstmigrantsmugglersandwelcomedtheestablishmentoftheNATO
activityontheAegeanSea.

At the same time Turkey and the EU recognise that further, swift and determined efforts are
needed.

Inordertobreakthebusinessmodelofthesmugglersandtooffermigrantsanalternativetoputting

theirlivesatrisk,theEUandTurkeytodaydecidedtoendtheirregularmigrationfromTurkeyto
theEU.Inordertoachievethisgoal,theyagreedonthefollowingadditionalactionpoints:

1)AllnewirregularmigrantscrossingfromTurkeyintoGreekislandswillbereturnedtoTurkey.
Thiswillbeatemporaryandextraordinarymeasurewhichisnecessarytoendthehumansuffering
andrestorepublicorder.MigrantsarrivingintheGreekislandswillbedulyregisteredandany
applicationforasylumwillbeprocessedbytheGreekauthoritiesinaccordancewiththeAsylum
ProceduresDirective.Migrantsnotapplyingforasylumorwhoseapplicationhasbeenfound
unfoundedorinadmissibleinaccordancewiththesaiddirectivewillbereturnedtoTurkey.Turkey
andGreece,assistedbyEUinstitutionsandagencies,willtakethenecessarystepsandagreeany
necessarybilateralarrangements,includingthepresenceofTurkishofficialsonGreekislands,to
ensureliaisonandtherebyfacilitatethesmoothfunctioningofthesearrangements.Thecostswillbe
coveredbytheEU.TheMembersoftheEuropeanCouncilwelcomeTurkey'scommitmentthat
migrantsreturnedtoTurkeywillbeprotectedinaccordancewiththeinternationalstandards
concerningthetreatmentofrefugeesandrespectingtheprincipleofnonrefoulement.Greece
agreedtoensurethatmigrantsalreadyontheGreekislandswillbetransferredtoreceptioncentres
ontheGreekmainland.

2)ForeverySyrianbeingreturnedtoTurkeyfromGreekislands,anotherSyrianwillberesettled
fromTurkeytotheEU.AmechanismwillbeestablishedbyTurkeyandGreece,withtheassistance
oftheCommission,EUagenciesandotherMemberStates,aswellastheUNHCR,toensurethat
thisprinciplewillbeimplementedovertime.Prioritywillbegiventomigrantswhohavenot
previouslyenteredortriedtoentertheEUirregularly.OntheEUside,resettlementunderthis
mechanismwilltakeplace,inthefirstinstance,byhonouringthecommitmentstakenbyMember
StatesintheconclusionsofRepresentativesoftheGovernmentsofMemberStatesmeetingwithin
theCouncilon22July2015,ofwhich18.000placesforresettlementremain.Anyfurtherneedfor
resettlementwillbecarriedoutthroughasimilarvoluntaryarrangementliptoalimitofan

additional54.000persons.TheMembersoftheEuropeanCouncilwelcometheCommission's
intentiontoproposeanamendmenttotherelocationdecisionof22September2015toallowfor
anyresettlementcommitmentundertakenintheframeworkofthisarrangementtobeoffsetfrom
nonallocatedplacesunderthedecision.Shouldthenumberofreturnedexceedthenumbers
providedforbythesearrangements,thismechanismwillbesubjecttoreview.

3)Turkeywilltakeanynecessarymeasurestopreventnewseaorlandroutesforillegalmigration
openingfromTurkeytotheEU,andwillcooperatewithneighbouringstatesaswellastheEUto
thiseffect.

4)OncethenumberofirregularcrossingsbetweenTurkeyandtheEUhavecometoanendorat
leasthavebeenverysubstantiallyreduced,theVoluntaryHumanitarianAdmissionSchemewillbe
activated.EUMemberStateswillcontributeonavoluntarybasistothisscheme.

5)TheimplementationofthevisaliberalisationroadmapwillbeacceleratedwithallmemberStates
withaviewtoliftingthevisarequirementsforTurkishcitizensatthelatestbytheendofJune2016.
TothisendTurkeywilltakethenecessarystepstofulfiltheremainingrequirementstoallowthe
Commissiontomake,followingtherequiredassessmentofcompliancewiththebenchmarks,an
appropriateproposalbytheendofAprilonthebasisofwhichtheEuropeanParliamentandthe
Councilcanmakeafinaldecision.

6)TheEU,inclosecooperationwithTurkey,willfurtherspeedupthedisbursementoftheinitially
allocated3billioneurosundertheFacilityforRefugeesinTurkeyandensurefundingoffurther
projectsforpersonsundertemporaryprotectionidentifiedwithswiftinputfromTurkeybeforethe
endofMarch.Oncetheseresourcesareabouttobeusedtothefull,andprovidedtheabove
commitmentsachievetheirdesiredresults,theEUstandsreadytodecideonadditionalfundingfor
theFacilityuptoaceilingofanadditional3billioneurosuptotheendof2018.

7)TheEU,togetherwithTurkey,willprepareforthedecisionontheopeningofnewchaptersin
theaccessionnegotiationsassoonaspossible,buildingontheOctober2015EuropeanCouncil
conclusions.

8)TheEUanditsMemberStateswillworkwithTurkeyinanyjointendeavourtoimprove
humanitarianconditionsinsideSyriawhichwouldallowforthelocalpopulationandrefugeesto
liveinareaswhichwillbemoresafe.

Alltheseelementswillbetakenforwardinparallelandmonitoredjointlyonamonthlybasis.

TheEUandTurkeydecidedtomeetagainasnecessaryinaccordancewiththejointstatementof29
November2015.