European Commission
spokesperson Margaritis Schinas said Thursday the EU was working
to make the agreement with Turkey on the asylum-seeker crisis
function after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned it
risked breaking down.
Erdogan threatened Turkey may not stick to the agreement
if the EU goes back on its promises, referring in particular to
the European visa regime for Turkish citizens, which Ankara
hopes will be abolished from June.
"If the EU does not maintain its promises, Turkey may not
carry out the agreement," Erdogan said, referring to the deal
that led to the deportation of 202 migrants from Greece to
Turkey on Monday.
Some national governments and groups in the European
Parliament have expressed reservations about easing visa
requirements for Turks.
"The European Commission is working in good faith and
honestly to fully apply all aspects of the EU-Turkey agreement
on immigration," Schinas said.
"The agreement is a contract of mutual trust, signed by
the 28 countries of the EU and Turkey.
"It was unanimously agreed on at the level of heads of
state and government.
"Are there problems? Nothing is easy in life but this is
something that has been agreed on by both sides in this
relationship".
The agreement, which sees economic migrants sent back to
Turkey in exchange for the acceptance of Syrian refugees
currently in Turkey, has been criticised by the UNHCR and many
human-rights groups.
Unicef said that more than 22,000 refugee and migrant
children are stranded in Greece, facing an uncertain future and,
in some cases, forms of detention since the agreement went into
effect last month.
"Any decision about any child, whether a toddler or a
teenager, whether with family or not, should be guided by the
best interests of that child," said Marie-Pierre Poirier,
Unicef's Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Crisis
in Europe.
"Children need to be heard. A rushed decision to return can
lead to a rash result and going back to a place of fear and
violence. Children, no matter where they
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
