EU, Turkey seek to realise migrant plan

EU and Turkish leaders on Tuesday sought to turn into a lasting accord a plan on easing Europe’s migrant crisis hailed as a game-changer by Ankara and Brussels but swiftly criticised by the UN’s refugee chief.

The day after agreeing the tentative plan following late night talks in Brussels, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was to discuss how it could work in a crucial meeting with his Greek counterpart, Alexis Tsipras.

The EU is wooing Turkey — used by over one million migrants in the last year as a springboard for reaching the bloc — as the key player in helping ease Europe’s worst migrant crisis since World War II.

The talks in Brussels were expected to be tough but Davutoglu upped the ante by bringing additional Turkish demands to the table — such as accelerated visa liberalisation — as well as offering more than EU diplomats expected.

But after hours of talks, EU president Donald Tusk described the outcome as a “breakthrough” and said he would now work on the legal details to reach a final deal at a European summit in Brussels on March 17-18.

A key pillar of the mooted deal was the unexpected offer by Ankara to take back every irregular migrant that crosses from Turkey to the islands of EU member Greece.

In return, the EU would then resettle one Syrian living in Turkey on its territory for every Syrian migrant it takes back from Greece.

The hope is that the plan will eliminate incentives for migrants to come to Greece by boat, but it ran into swift opposition from the head of the UN refugee agency Filippo Grandi.

“I’m deeply concerned about any arrangement that would involve the blanket return of anyone from one country to another without spelling out the refugee protection safeguards under international law,” he told the European Parliament.

Rights group Amnesty International said EU and Turkish leaders had “sunk to a new low” and ridiculed the notion that Turkey was a “safe country” to which migrants could return.

Iverna McGowan, the head of Amnesty’s European Institutions Office, said “the idea of bartering refugees” was “dangerously dehumanising.”

The head of the UN refugee agency said he was “deeply concerned” by a proposed deal between the EU and Ankara to curb the migrant crisis that would involve people being sent back to Turkey.

“On the face of what appears to have been agreed, we are concerned about any arrangement that involves the blanket return of all individuals from one country to another without sufficiently spelt out refugee protection safeguards in keeping with international obligations,” the UNHCR said.

Turkey and Greece signed a protocol over the readmission of migrants in 2002 but it has rarely been activated and its use could transform the refugee crisis.

Mr Tsipras said that Turkey had come to the table at the summit with “tempting proposals that surprised many people”.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who has been the strongest proponent of a deal with Turkey — gave cautious support.

“It is a breakthrough if it becomes reality,” she told reporters.

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi on Tuesday welcomed the plan and called it “a small step forward”.

Mr Davutoglu said the one-for-one Syrian refugee swap deal was “game-changing” and denied that Turkey was “demanding” money. As well as that offer, Davutoglu surprised his counterparts by asking for an extra 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in aid and visa-free travel for Turks to the bloc by June.