Brussels: European leaders will meet together to deliberate over whether Turkey has done enough to halt the flow of migrants into Greece, to receive 2 billion pounds in aid. They will analyse migration data presented by the President of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, to assess whether Ankara has held to its end of the bargain struck with Brussels last month. Latest figures showed the number of arrivals fell to 108,000 last month, and last week, 5 people, 3 of them children, drowned and 80 were rescued when a boat capsized off the coast of Lesbos.
A source said, “It is still too early to make any final judgement on whether the deal with Turkey is working or not working. Those who want to say it is a great success are not justified. Those who say nothing will work are not justified. We need more time.” A report has accused the EU of being “complicit” in illegal deportations of refugees back to Syria and Iraq, as part of the deal. Amnesty International said that refugees arriving in Turkey have been forced back to war zones; some into the hands of armed groups, and suggests EU money is being used for the operations. The charity said that EU has allowed its funds to be used for equipment and infrastructure in Turkish facilities from which refugees and asylum-seekers are being unlawfully pressured to return to countries such as Syria and Iraq. Refugees in Turkey's Erzurum detention centre showed Amnesty staff labels attached to furniture advertising the centre's funding under an EU pre-accession programme. EU officials in Ankara confirmed to Amnesty that the 6 EU-funded open reception centres outlined in the draft action plan “will actually be detention centres”.
The EU agreed to pay Turkey 2.17 bn pounds last month, towards the cost of catering for Syrian refugees in the country, with renewed momentum on talks for Turkey to join the EU. It was also agreed to fast-track visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens travelling to the EU in return for Ankara taking back deported migrants from EU states. Turkey promised to strengthen its western borders to stop the flow of migrants and refugees towards the EU. However, the Amnesty report claimed that since September, the Turkish authorities have rounded up scores and “possibly hundreds” of migrants on to buses and transported them to isolated detention centres. A 40 year old Syrian said, “When they put a chain over your hands and legs, you feel like a slave, like you are not a human being.”
The Turkish government has angrily rejected the accusations, saying it “categorically denied” that any Syrian refugee in Turkey had been forced to return to the war zone. A Turkish government official added that all returnees were being independently interviewed by the UN refugee agency. The European Commission said it welcomed the report. “The EU is not aware of individual cases of deportations but the report will be considered with due attention, and followed up with the Turkish authorities, as appropriate.”