The EU-Turkey Statement was issued on 18 March 2016 by the members of the European Council and the Republic of Turkey at the height of the Mediterranean migration crisis, during which over one million people had crossed into the EU by sea in 2015. The arrangement was designed to halt irregular migration from Turkey to the Greek islands and to dismantle the smuggling networks operating across the Aegean.
The core elements of the statement included:
- Return of irregular migrants: All new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands as of 20 March 2016 would be returned to Turkey, with individual asylum claims processed in line with the EU Asylum Procedures Directive.
- 1:1 resettlement mechanism: For every Syrian returned to Turkey from the Greek islands, another Syrian would be resettled from Turkey to the EU, capped initially at 72,000 places.
- Financial assistance: The EU committed an initial €3 billion under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, with a further €3 billion pledged through end-2018.
- Visa liberalisation: The EU agreed to accelerate visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens, conditional on Turkey meeting 72 benchmarks.
- Re-energising EU accession talks and work on upgrading the EU-Turkey Customs Union.
The legal nature of the deal remains contested. In NF, NG and NM v European Council (Cases T-192/16, T-193/16, T-257/16, 28 February 2017), the EU General Court ruled it lacked jurisdiction because the statement was an act of the member states, not of an EU institution — a finding criticised by legal scholars who argue it shielded the arrangement from judicial review.
Irregular Aegean crossings fell sharply after March 2016, but the statement has drawn sustained criticism from UNHCR, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch over the designation of Turkey as a "safe third country," conditions in Greek hotspot camps (notably Moria on Lesbos), and slow resettlement throughput. Tensions resurfaced in February-March 2020 when Turkey announced it would no longer prevent migrants from crossing into Greece.
Example
In April 2016, weeks after the statement took effect, Greece began returning the first groups of migrants from Lesbos and Chios to the Turkish port of Dikili under the new procedure.
Frequently asked questions
No. The EU General Court held in 2017 that it is not an act of an EU institution, and it was never ratified as a treaty. It is generally characterised as a political arrangement rather than a legally binding international agreement.
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