European Council to examine agreement with Turkey on refugee issue
Tusk: “The objective is clear: an agreement acceptable to all 28 Member States as well as to our Turkish partners. Work is progressing but there is still a lot to do.”
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Turkey
EU/Turkey: Mass, fast-track returns threaten rights says HRW
The European Union outline deal with Turkey announced on March 8, 2016, contradicts EU principles guaranteeing the right to seek asylum and against collective expulsions. “A fundamental contradiction lies at the heart of the EU-Turkey deal taking shape,” said Human Rights Watch.
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UNHCR reaction to EU Summit with Turkey
Turkey hosts close to 3 million refugees and has made enormous contributions for years and just recently adopted a work regulation for Syrian refugees, but, in light of the enormity of the task, still struggles to provide for all the basic needs of the swelling Syrian population.
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European Council president Tusk: ‘We agreed to work on Turkey’s proposals’
Tusk: “We agreed that despite good implementation of the Joint Action Plan on migration, the flow of migrants passing from Turkey to Greece remains much too high and needs to be brought down significantly.”
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EU Summit with Turkey: official statement
Following their meeting with Prime Minister Davutoğlu, the EU Heads of State or Government addressed the migration situation, in particular as regards the Western Balkans route. They welcomed their discussion with the Turkish Prime Minister on EU-Turkey relations and on the progress made in the implementation of the Joint Action Plan.
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European Council president Donald Tusk invites EU leaders to discuss refugee crisis
Tusk: “For the first time since the beginning of the migration crisis, I can see a European consensus emerging. It is a consensus around a comprehensive strategy that, if loyally implemented, can help stem the flows and tackle the crisis.”
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Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers held talks on the refugee crisis
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğlu visited Athens, ahead of the EU-Turkey summit in Brussels and the High-Level Cooperation Council between Greece and Turkey.
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Refugee crisis: European MPs assess the situation in Turkey
A delegation headed by European Parliament’s Vice-President Sylvie Guillaume visited the Nizip refugee camp.
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UNHCR statement on the situation in Turkey
In view of the recent displacement in Aleppo province and the extreme vulnerabilities, UNHCR is encouraging authorities to ensure a broader access to Turkish territory for all those in need of international protection in line with the long-standing Turkish open-border policy.
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Foreign minister Kotzias: ‘We are carrying out open, honest discussions with Turkey’
KOTZIAS: “I think that Greek-Turkish relations are relations that have a number of problems that must be solved, and the solution will be based on international law as well as on trust between the two peoples and the corresponding competent services… We are carrying out open, honest discussions, and I think that the state of trust is better than it was a year ago.”
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