Legal News

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire MP has confirmed that as part of the UK’s contribution to EU/Turkey deal on migration, the government is offering to deploy a team of experts to Greece, to help deal with the large numbers of migrants travelling from Turkey to the continent.

Speaking at the Justice and Home Affairs Council in Luxembourg on Thursday (21/04/14), Mr Brokenshire outlined the offer to send a package of around 75 personnel, vital equipment and medical supplies to Greece as part of the EU/Turkey deal agreed by European leaders in March.

The staff will represent the largest deployment from the UK to the region to date and will include 40 staff to support the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) in the processing and screening of migrants – as well as ten interpreters capable of speaking specified Middle-Eastern and Asian languages and dialects, who are in short supply.

Up to ten medical personnel and two trauma incident managers (TRIMs) will be sent to manage the welfare of those deployed – and up to ten staff to ensure the efficient and effective co-ordination between the Greek authorities, EU agencies and member states will also be deployed.

More than 178,000 refugees and migrants have crossed the Mediterranean since the start of January 2016 – including almost 154,000 migrants arriving in to Greece.

At the European Council on 17-18 March, European leaders agreed a plan with Turkey to end illegal migration from Turkey to the EU. The agreement specifically aims to prevent migrants from leaving Turkey in the first place –
and to return to Turkey those who arrive in Greece.

Under the deal – implementation of which began earlier in April – a total of 325 migrants have been returned, and the number of migrants arriving on Greek islands has reduced considerably, from around 2,000 a day in February to around 100 per day.

Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said:

“The UK strongly welcomes the EU/Turkey deal and believes it will make a genuine difference to managing the flows of migration.

“It will help discourage people from attempted crossings and from putting themselves in the hands of smugglers.

“We have been actively engaged in supporting the deal since it was introduced – and today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to supporting Greece where and how they need it most.”

The UK is one of a number of countries currently supporting Greece to put in place the necessary human resources, infrastructure and reception capacity to enable them to process migrants and undertake large scale return operations.

Under the deal, migrants who arrive in Greece are assessed to see if they can be returned to Turkey – irregular economic migrants can be immediately returned.

If a migrant wishes to make an asylum claim, they are assessed to see if they are eligible.

As well as helping Athens with planning for implementation of the deal, the UK has also deployed three Border Force vessels to assist in search and rescue missions, under the command of the Greek Hellenic Coastguard and a Royal Navy vessel operating as part of the NATO mission.

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