The European Commission reported on the EU’s relocation and resettlement schemes and the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement.
At the same time, outlined the steps still needed to be taken by Greece in view of a future resumption of Dublin transfers from other Member States while also reporting on the temporary border controls carried out at internal Schengen borders under the Council recommendation of 12 May 2016.
European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: “The implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement has continued, and the reduction in attempts to cross the Aegean and in deaths at sea has confirmed its core rationale. I also welcome the efforts of Member States to increase relocation and resettlement. However, those who can do more should do so urgently. We can only effectively manage asylum and migration in Europe, and preserve the Schengen area, if we all work together in a spirit of solidarity and responsibility.”
Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “All our measures on migration are interlinked. The EU-Turkey Statement has led to concrete positive results. The increased efforts made by Member States over the past months on relocation, with more than 1,200 relocations alone in September, demonstrate that relocation can be speeded up if there is political will and a sense of responsibility. The success of our common approach over the last months is essential for the success of everything else, including a gradual return to the Dublin system and a normal functioning of Schengen. Relocation has to succeed.”
One year after the entry into force of the relocation schemes, the groundwork has been laid and significant progress achieved. September recorded 1,202 relocations, the highest monthly number so far, twice as high as during the previous reporting period. In total, 5,651 persons have been relocated from Greece (4,455) and Italy (1,196).
The efforts by Italy and Greece, the Member States of relocation, EU agencies and international organisations have resulted in close to 100% fingerprinting, strengthened security, and a significant increase in the number of relocation applicants and acceleration of relocation transfers, particularly in the latest months from Greece. With the increased capacity of the Greek Asylum Service, and if Member States step up their efforts, it should notably be possible to relocate the remaining relocation candidates present in Greece (around 30,000) within the next year.
Member States have continued to increase their efforts on resettlement – offering legal and safe pathways to 10,695 people so far of the agreed 22,504 under the July 2015 scheme. An additional 1,071 Syrian refugees have been resettled from Turkey between June and 27 September, tripling the number of people resettled and bringing the total number from Turkey under the EU-Turkey Statement to 1,614.
The continued decrease of people crossing irregularly or losing their lives in the Aegean continues to be proof of the Statement’s effectiveness so far. The average daily arrival of 85 persons per day since June, in comparison to over 1,700 per day in the month preceding the implementation of the Statement and 7,000 per day in October 2015, shows that the business model of smugglers can be broken. Return operations have continued to be carried out with an additional 116 persons returned since the Second Report, bringing the total number of persons returned under the Statement to 578, and the Greek administration has made further efforts to increase the rate of returns, in full compliance with EU and international law.
The Commission has continued to accelerate the delivery of funding under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, having already allocated a total amount of €2.239 billion of the €3 billion foreseen for 2016-2017. The amounts contracted have increased to €1.252 billion. The Commission is making all necessary efforts to ensure an acceleration of disbursements under the Facility, which have now reached €467 million.
