Introduction
One year ago, the ‘Balkan route’ – by which refugees, asylum seekers and migrants travelled from Greece to northern Europe – was closed. This route had constituted the only hope for thousands of people seeking protection in Europe. In the wake of this, on 18 March 2016 the European Union (EU) and Turkey issued the EU-Turkey statement, commonly referred to as the EU-Turkey deal. This deal aimed at stemming arrivals of asylum seekers and migrants from Turkey to Europe, and allegedly offered “migrants an alternative to putting their lives at risk”. Nine months later, the deal was reinforced with a joint action plan,2 a two-page document setting out further action to be taken.
These two interlinked events – the closure of the Balkan route and the EU-Turkey deal – represented a new paradigm in the EU’s approach to mixed migration flows. In reaction to the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal, MSF decided to no longer accept funds from the EU and its member states, in opposition to their damaging deterrence policies and their continued attempts to push people and their suffering away from European shores.
One year into the deal’s implementation, European leaders have been heralding its “positive results”, its “continued trend of progress” and its “steady delivery of results”, whilst acknowledging some “challenges” along the way. Most recently, EU member states such as Germany and Malta have called for the EU-Turkey deal to be replicated elsewhere.
