About 900 Migrants Arrive In Greece In One Day Despite Refugee Deal

At least 875 migrants arrived in Greece in the last 24 hours despite the EU-Turkey agreement, stating that all undocumented migrants who crossed waters from Turkey toward Greece will be returned back, UK media reported.

According to the ITV broadcaster, 12 boats with refugees had already arrived on Sunday on shoreline of the Greek island of Lesbos despite the threat of being returned to Turkey.

Earlier in March, Brussels and Ankara struck a deal, which will see all migrants arriving illegally from Turkey to Greece starting from March 20 returned back. In exchange, the EU will resettle thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey.

According to the broadcaster, the agreement is expected to take effect from April 4.

As part of the deal, the European Union is expected to accelerate Turkey’s EU accession process and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and Europe, as well as granting a total of 3 billion euros (over USD 3.3 billion) to Turkey to help it provide for refugees on its soil. An additional 3 billion euro in assistance to Ankara can be given by 2018.

Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their home countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty. Many of them take the West Balkan route, which crosses Greece, using the county as an entry point into the bloc from which they travel onward to wealthier EU states where they intend to apply for asylum.

The situation with refugees in Greece has worsened after a number of Balkan states, including Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia, erected border fences and toughened their entry criteria. (PNA/Sputnik) JBP/SSC