EN - Frans Timmermans unveils European Commission contribution to Thursday's European Council and Friday's meeting of the EU Heads of State or Government with the Turkish Prime Minister - The next operational steps in EU-Turkey cooperation in the field of migration: legal, operational and financial details of how the deal agreed in principle at the 7 March meeting with Turkey could be feasible - FULL ENGLISH PART version - 16.03.2016 - European Commission, Brussels. EXTRACTS OF THE TRANSCRIPT - Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the EC in charge of Better Regulation, Inter-Institutional Relations, the Rule of Law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights: "The last thing we want is for Idomeni to become the norm. This cannot be the norm in Europe. This is not an acceptable way forward for the EU's asylum and migration policy. We need to do everything we can to avoid this. (...) Returns can only take place in accordance with the international and EU legal framework. I think there was a lot of misunderstanding on this in the last week.This means, first of all, the case of each person requesting international protection needs to be assessed individually, in line with requirements from the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and according to the parameters laid down in the Asylum Procedures Directive. This can be done while also making full use of the possibilities offered by the Directive for faster procedures. (...) The EU will need to support Greece - in adapting the hotspots, increasing the reception capacity in the Greek islands, as well as meeting transportation needs. What is also clear is that things need to move fast – we know from experience that any delayed policies or steps are creating pull and push factors on the ground. I want to stress that, as Europeans, we cannot and will not turn our back on those who need protection. People seek refuge from war and persecution. It is our moral obligation to help them. It is our legal obligation to help them. And we will, in full compliance with our international legal obligations. (...) Once irregular crossings between Turkey and the EU have come to an end or have been at least substantially reduced, admissions under the Voluntary Humanitarian Admission Scheme with Turkey should be activated. And let me underline that once that is the case, we expect more Member States to participate. We must continue to live up to our shared responsibility to give refuge to those who have the right to international protection. When we succeed in breaking the pattern of irregular arrivals, 'one for one' will not become 'none for none'.And we must keep helping refugees in Turkey. We have already started to allocate funds from our 3 billion facility. This money will directly help Syrians in Turkey, improving their daily lives through better access to healthcare and education. We need to continue to work with our Turkish partners and with Member States to allow for its swift and efficient roll-out. (...) Moving forward on the agreement reached by the European Council of 7 March is the right thing to do because staying with the present situation is simply unacceptable from a human point of view. People are still drowning in the Aegean, people are suffering in Idomeni. We need to break that logic, we need to put an end to the business of smugglers. This is in our view a way to put an end to the business of smugglers, which will enable us to move ahead to show that solidarity is not just a word, but something that Europeans are collectively capable of. (...)" © Frédérick Moulin 2016 - EU2016 - European Commission - All rights reserved.

• published: 17 Mar 2016
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