The European Council meeting is to focus on future cooperation with Turkey on refugee policy. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will also attend the meeting. The aim is to find a way to reconcile the interests of the EU and Turkey, said Chancellor Angela Merkel before talks began.
On her arrival in Brussels, Chancellor Angela Merkel was "cautiously optimistic" that the 28 EU states could reach an agreement with Turkey. She said it was a question of reconciling the interests of the EU and Turkey.
When looking at how to end illegal migration, she continued, it is obviously important to ensure that "every refugee is seen as an individual and that they are free to exercise their rights regarding their arrival in Greece and their return to Turkey". Angela Merkel stressed that the images of conditions in Idomeni leave nobody cold, and that the humanitarian situation on the ground must be improved. The EU will also have to further strengthen the border management agency Frontex and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).
One day before the summit meeting, in a government statement Angela Merkel underscored the fact that only a solidarity-based European approach to the refugee crisis could prevent a worsening of living conditions for the people in Europe. The aim is to reduce the number of refugees entering the EU, to share the burden fairly and to end illegal migration across the Aegean.
At the EU-Turkey summit meeting on 7 March in Brussels, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had a new proposal: Turkey, he said, is willing to readmit migrants arriving illegally in Greece from Turkey. In return, the EU would admit refugees directly from Turkey through legal channels. This ought to remove the incentives for illegal migration. The EU member states welcomed this proposal.
The return of all new irregular migrants and asylum-seekers arriving on the Greek islands from Turkey must comply completely with European and international law. In particular, provisions regarding the protection of refugees and their rights must be respected. The European Commission has published six principles for further developing EU-Turkey cooperation in tackling the migration crisis.
Another integral part of the EU-Turkey Action Plan is that robust action is to be taken to crack down on criminal traffickers in the Aegean. NATO is now also involved in this. Under the command of a German Rear Admiral, the standing NATO marine group is now in position. Germany has provided the flagship of the operation, the "Bonn". NATO vessels are to gather first-hand information about the gangs of traffickers. In this way NATO can help the Greek and Turkish coastguards and the European border management agency to take effective steps to combat these gangs.
This operation is to be extended step by step since the migration routes are already changing. Angela Merkel said, "That is why we need access to all parts of Turkish territorial waters."
Turkey, which borders directly on Syria, has already taken in more than 2.5 million refugees. The EU-Turkey Action Plan thus provides for extensive financial support for concrete refugee projects in Turkey. This assistance will ease the burden of providing accommodation and caring for the refugees. And, if the humanitarian situation improves in refugee camps in Turkey, people will no longer have to flee any further.
Traditionally the spring summit meeting of the heads of state and government concentrates on the EU’s economy on the basis of what is known as the European Semester. This involves specific recommendations issued by the European Commission for individual member countries. In the run-up to the European Council meeting, the Chancellor pointed out that the radical challenges posed by refugee movements can only be mastered if the EU has a robust economy.
Programme
The European Council met at 16:00. After a meeting with Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, the participants posed for the traditional family photo, before meeting for their first working session followed by a working dinner. The second day of the meeting kicks off at 10:00 on Friday morning with breakfast attended by the 28 heads of state of government of the EU member states and the Turkish Prime Minister. A press conference will wind up the European Council meeting.