The EU-Turkey Agreement: a turning point in the EU’s policy approach to the refugee crisis but with the devil lurking in the detail

The Elcano Royal Institute is a think-tank for international and strategic studies that analyses world events and trends from a Spanish, European and global perspective.

The Elcano Royal Institute's Working Papers are longer documents of an academic nature - usually between 12,000 and 15,000 words long, with footnotes and bibliographies - on current international affairs of relevance to Spain or on different aspects of Spain's foreign policy and security.

The EU Council’s controversial EU-Turkey agreement of 17-18 March to tackle the refugee crisis has two major objectives: to stop/or substantially reduce the massive inflow of irregular migrants arriving to the Greek islands from Turkey (thus dismantling the smuggling networks) and to design an ordered resettlement mechanism in the EU for Syrians currently in Turkey. These objectives will be tackled with two separate but interdependent measures. First, all irregular migrants arriving in Greece from 20 March onwards will be returned to Turkey beginning on 4 April. Secondly, starting at the same time as these returns, for every Syrian returned the EU and its members will allow a Syrian refugee to legally enter the EU, the so called ‘1-for-1’ mechanism

• Primary Source

Turkey and the EU [What Think Tanks are thinking] http://www.europeansources.info/record/turkey-and-the-eu-what-think-tanks-are-thinking/

European Council, Brussels, 17 - 18 March 2016 http://www.europeansources.info/record/european-council-brussels-17-18-march-2016/

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