Türkiye agrees with Europe to return migrants from Greece to the country

At the EU-Turkey summit held in Brussels on Monday, Ankara agreed with the EU to return refugees who enter Europe through the country. Turkey, which came to the meeting with new proposals, has also asked the European Union to provide Turkish authorities with an additional three billion euros in addition to the three billion euros the Union had previously agreed to pay the country for migrant issues.

Further negotiations are scheduled to take place between Turkey and EU member states to finalize the details of the agreement. According to a Euronews correspondent from the meeting, the continuation of negotiations to finalize the agreement has been postponed to March 17th and 18th.

Welcoming this initial agreement to block the illegal entry of migrants, European Council President Donald Tusk said: "The Turkish Prime Minister agreed at the meeting that all migrants who enter Greece via Turkey and do not need international protection will be returned to Turkey. The European Union will also support Greece by implementing a rapid return system for migrants to Turkey. All decisions taken send a clear message that illegal migration to Europe has come to an end."

Turkey will also implement its previous agreement with the European Union to accept economic migrants from Greece and return them to their countries of origin from June. The country hopes to implement this commitment at the same time as lifting visa requirements for its citizens to travel to Europe and opening a new chapter in its EU membership bid.

"Our goal is to be able to stop human traffickers by weakening illegal immigration. This method will allow us to help people who come to Europe through legal channels," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said of the agreement.

According to the proposal presented by Turkey, from now on, in addition to controlling the Aegean Sea to prevent migrants from entering the Greek islands, all refugees, including Syrian refugees, who enter Greece will be returned to Turkey, where they will be registered and their files reviewed in the country's camps, and sent to other European countries if they meet the conditions for asylum.

Stopping migrants in Türkiye and blocking what has become known as the Balkan route is one of the European Union's goals with this agreement.