European Commission - Press release - 16 March 2016
On 7 March, EU leaders agreed that bold moves were needed to close down people smuggling routes, to break the business model of the smugglers, to protect the EU external borders and to end the migration crisis in Europe. To achieve this, the leaders warmly welcomed the additional proposals made by Turkey and agreed to work with Turkey on the basis of a set of six principles. The President of the European Council was tasked with taking forward these proposals and working out the details with Turkey before the European Council of 18-19 March.
First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: "Nobody who wants to remain true to the principles of decency, humanity and solidarity can be satisfied with a situation where human beings, to reach Europe, take a gamble on their lives, putting them in the hands of people smugglers who cynically exploit human misery. We need to finally break that pattern. The proposals discussed between the EU and Turkish leaders to return all new irregular migrants and asylum seekers arriving in Greece from Turkey, as a temporary and extraordinary measure taking effect as soon as possible, together with resettling Syrians from Turkey to the EU, can break the smugglers' business model once and for all. But this will and can only take place in accordance with the international and EU legal framework. This means that the case of each person requesting international protection needs to be assessed individually, with a right to appeal, and with the guarantee that there will be no 'refoulement'"
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