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18th Mar 2016

EU Leaders Have Agreed To A Controversial Deal To Return Refugees To Turkey

Ellen Tannam

A controversial deal between Turkey and European leaders has been approved today.

It is an attempt to deal with the flow of illegal immigration to Europe from Turkey, by closing the main route over which over a million refugees and migrants used to travel to Europe from unsafe territories.

The refugees travelled across the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, but this is now going to be highly curtailed.

Reuters report that Donald Tusk, European Council President, met with Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu in Brussels today to go through the terms of the deal.

Refugees and migrants who arrive in Greece from Sunday will be sent back to Turkey once their claim for asylum has been processed, which means they will have to remain there until it’s granted.

Many human rights groups have denounced the deal, saying it is not realistic that migrants will have their claims assessed properly while they remain in Turkey, and it will be difficult to accommodate those fleeing from war in Syria in terms of housing, etc.