European Union and Turkey agree to review their migration agreement

The European Union (EU) and Turkey agreed on Monday to launch a consultation process to clarify how the 2016 migration agreement between the two sides is being implemented, whereby Ankara must keep asylum seekers on its territory in exchange for 6 billion euros in EU funds. The EU's High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, and the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavusoglu, will be responsible for carrying out this task, announced the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, after meeting with the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan visited Brussels amidst criticism of Europe for not sufficiently supporting Turkey in the Syrian crisis, while the EU had asked the Turkish authorities not to use migratory pressure for political purposes. Borrell and Çavusoglu will work with their teams "in the coming days to clarify the implementation of the agreement between Turkey and the EU, to make sure that we are on the same page, that we have the same interpretation of what we are doing", Michel said at a press conference, which was also attended by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, but not Erdogan.

"We had the opportunity to share our different views on the agreement (...) We tried to clarify certain positions, interpretations, comments on the implementation of this agreement," said the Belgian politician. In particular he said that the EU had the opportunity "to show how it has implemented financial commitments" with the promise to mobilise a total of 6 billion euros in support of refugees on Turkish soil. He also "explained the difference for the EU between the means that are paid and disbursed" because the processes have been completed and the projects have been carried out, and "the means that are committed, i.e. that are reserved".

"The 2016 agreement is still valid and we are addressing how to have a common understanding on what is missing and what is already implemented", said Von der Leyen.

The EC chair called for "not always fighting over figures and facts" although "interpretation may be different", and noted that Erdogan called for such an expert review and "having a common basis". "We have expressed our commitment to President Erdogan very clearly to move forward on these issues, if this is reciprocal", she said.

Relations between Ankara and Brussels have been strained since Erdogan complained ten days ago about Brussels' lack of support for the Turkish military presence in Idlib and announced the opening of Turkish borders to allow the more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey to go to EU countries. Following the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in the Idlib region of north-west Syria on 27 February, fighting between Ankara-backed rebel militias and Russian-backed official forces escalated, worsening the humanitarian situation of the refugees.

Since last Thursday, a ceasefire agreed by Erdogan with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been in place in Idlib to facilitate the delivery of aid to the population.

Mr Michel said that he and Mr Erdogan had also discussed security issues in the region and especially the conflict in Syria. The President of the European Council said that the meeting with Erdogan, which follows his visit to Ankara last week, is a "first step in the right direction" and that he envisages, as the technical work they will undertake progresses, a return to dialogue with the Turkish President "in the coming days". "There is work to be done, to try in good faith and good will to follow up on this agreement", he concluded.

Erdogan also met today in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, to whom he asked for the "solidarity" of the allies to continue contributing to strengthening Turkey's security in the face of the conflict in neighbouring Syria. Stoltenberg said that the Alliance would continue to study what more it could do for Turkey but warned him of the flow of refugees as a "common challenge requiring common solutions", while urging him to "play his part in achieving a long-term solution to the crisis".