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EU leaders reaffirm commitment to migration deal with Turkey

Xinhua, December 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

Leaders of the European Union (EU) on Thursday reaffirmed their commitment to an EU-Turkey deal to stem the influx of illegal migrants to the bloc.

Leaders of the 28-nation bloc gathered here for the last summit of 2016, which focused on issues such as migration, security, economy, and external relations.

After wrapping up the one-day summit, the European Council issued conclusions on migration, underlining the importance of a "full and non-discriminatory implementation of all aspects" of the deal.

The Council also endorsed the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan and the implementation of the EU-Turkey statement elaborated between Greece and the European Commission.

As Greece had already taken the first steps towards implementing the plan, the Council called upon all EU member states to follow suit.

The EU-Turkey deal to curb the refugee influx into Europe came into force in March.

Under the agreement, Turkey agreed to take back all undocumented migrants who'd arrived in Europe in exchange for Europe resettling Syrian refugees in Turkey on a one-for-one basis. The EU also promised to accelerate EU membership talks with Turkey.

Turkey has moved to significantly reduce the illegal flow of migrants under the deal.

According to the European Commission, the influx of illegal migrants to the EU has dropped to 100 per day on average from 10,000 per day at the height of the migration crisis in October 2015.

However, the deal came into question after the European Parliament, in view of Turkey's "disproportionate repressive measures" in response to July's failed military coup, voted on Nov. 24 in favor of a non-binding motion on suspending membership talks with Turkey, sparking strong reactions from Ankara.

In the wake of the vote, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened he could tear up the migration deal and open border gates "if EU goes too far."

However, he said later on Nov. 29 that his country has not yet "closed book" with the EU, but was considering other alternatives.

Turkey applied to join the EU in 1987 and started accession talks in 2005, but the talks have faltered in recent years due to disagreements over issues such as refugees, freedom of the press and human rights. Endit