ON MARCH 20th the European Union signed a deal with Turkey which was meant to help stem the flow of refugees making their way to Europe. As fraction of the agreement,any “fresh irregular migrants” who arrived in Greece after that date would be sent back to Turkey. In return EU member states will accept one Syrian refugee from Turkey for every one sent back, and speed up visa liberalisation for Turkish nationals. On April 4th the first group of migrants, and around 200,mostly Pakistanis and Afghans, were sent back from Greece, or while around 43 refugees in Turkey were resettled across Europe. The deal is controversial—why?Since the agreement was struck the number of refugees arriving in Greece has dropped sharply: Turkish officials appear to be cracking down on smugglers who roam the country's coast,while the belief of being sent back there after making the perilous journey across the Aegean sea seems to be giving many migrants pause for thought. The migrants who were shipped back on April 4th had not applied for asylum in Greece; they would have been sent back anyway. A much trickier task awaits Greece when Syrians and other asylum claimants...
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Source: economist.com