EU: Turkey must stick to migrants deal

The European Union wants Turkey to abide by the agreement on migrants reached in March 2016, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi told Turkish officials in his two-day visit to the country on Monday and Tuesday.

The agreement, reached after a year of extensive migrant flows, commits Turkey to stopping undocumented migrants from crossing into the European Union and taking back those expelled by EU states, especially Greece.

Varhelyi met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Trade Minister Mehmet Mus and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin.

In the wake of recent developments in Afghanistan, and given the continued presence of millions of Syrian refugees, the EU will provide an additional €3 billion to Turkey in aid.

EU officials say Turkey again raised its longstanding demand for visa-free travel to the bloc, but, as with the Cyprus issue, it “was not discussed in depth.” Varhelyi and Turkish officials also discussed the long-stalled talks over Turkey’s joining the EU.