Leaders of EU countries speed up cooperation with Turkey

The informal meeting of the EU Heads of State or Government on 12 November in Valletta, Malta, stressed the need to reach agreement with Turkey on a joint Action Plan to stem the migration flows. Therefore, the EU countries and Turkey will organise a joint summit as soon as possible. Turkey is the most significant route of entry into Europe. According to estimates by the UN’s Refugee Agency UNHCR, by the end of October over 600,000 people had entered Greece from Turkey this year.

The meeting expedited the implementation of the decisions taken so far by the EU. ‘Implementation has so far been insufficient. It is very important to get the hotspots up and running in November’, Prime Minister Sipilä noted.

‘The Dublin Regulation system does not work effectively enough at the moment. We must be prepared to reassess it. In particular, we must reconsider burden-sharing. We are in a new situation now, where Sweden, one of the destination countries for internal relocation in the EU, has requested that asylum seekers entering the country be relocated in other EU countries. We understand Sweden’s exceptional measure to temporarily introduce border controls’, Prime Minister Sipilä said.

Prime Minister Sipilä also highlighted the need to prepare more effectively for the future. ‘The situation is changing fast and we need better situation awareness and clearer options for action from the EU, so that we can overcome these challenges together’, noted Prime Minister Sipilä.

The Heads of State or Government meeting was held by invitation of Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, just after the Summit between European and African countries.

Inquiries: Kare Halonen, State Secretary, EU Affairs, tel. +358 295 160 319, 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

(Translation. Originally published in Finnish 12 November.)