EU and Turkey activate action plan to manage migration

The meeting of the EU heads of state or government with Turkey held on 29 November agreed on an EU–Turkey Statement, which includes the activation of a Joint Action Plan to bring order into migratory flows from Turkey to Europe. Approximately one half of this year’s migratory flow into the EU has come via Turkey.

Turkey hosts over 2.2 million people who have fled Syria. The EU countries are prepared to provide humanitarian assistance to them through the EU Refugee Facility. The EU is committed to provide an initial EUR 3 billion to the facility.

The parties also decided to further the visa liberalisation dialogue and stated that the EU-Turkey readmission agreement will become fully applicable from the summer of 2016.

EU and Turkey agreed that Turkey’s accession process needs to be re-energized. A new chapter in the accession negotiations is due to open in December. The accession negotiations have been in progress since 2005.

’EU cooperation with Turkey plays a key role in the management of migration and concrete results are expected. By committing to cooperate with Turkey, the EU expects Turkey to fulfil its obligations for more effective border control and to return the people who are not in need of international protection to their countries of origin’, says Prime Minister Juha Sipilä.

Inquiries: Kare Halonen, State Secretary, EU Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 315, Jari Haapiainen, Special Adviser (EU Affairs), tel. +358 295 160 406 and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 0733, Prime Minister’s Office

English translation of the press release published on 30 November 2015