EU court lacks jurisdiction over migrants’ EU-Turkey deal complaint

europe online magazine – The General Court of the European Union said on Tuesday it does not have the jurisdiction to pass judgement on a case brought about by three asylum seekers against a migration deal struck between EU member states and Turkey.

The complainants, two Pakistanis and one Afghan national, had challenged an agreement between Ankara and the bloc to send back migrants arriving in Europe from Turkey.

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50% of Turkish-Syrian border wall completed according to TOKI

Star (link in Turkish) – The Public Administration of Social Housing (TOKİ), which is attached to the prime minister office, declared that 50 % of the wall that is being constructed along the Turkish-Syrian border is completed.

In total the wall will be 511 km long: Of these, 97 km in the province of Hatay; 67 km in Kilis; 38,10 km in Gaziantep; 194 km in Şanlıurfa; 66 km in Mardin and 47 km in Şırnak.

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New detention centres at the external EU borders

ECRE – Greece is building pre-removal detention facilities on the Aegean islands with the aim of accelerating the implementation of the EU-Turkey statement. These will be separate from the Reception and Identification Centres on the hotspots where newly arrived refugees and migrants are initially detained.

According to the EU Coordinator for the implementation of the statement, the pre-removal detention centres on the islands would be a temporary solution to increase the number of returns to Turkey. On Kos, a pre-removal detention centre has been established by a Ministerial Decision entering into force in February 2017 until the end of 2017. The costs of construction of the centre are estimated at €4.5 million. Reference has also been made to pre-removal centres in the remaining hotspots, although an implementing legal instrument has yet to be issued.

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#CrossingNoMore revisited – new shortfilm on the protest

In September 2015, thousands of refugees gathered in a number of cities in Turkey, such as Istanbul, EdirneTheir goal was to cross over the Turkish borders all together and reach Europe. The scale of the march in Turkey was absolutely unprecedented. People carried banners and signs addressing the European Union, and some signs even referred personally to Germany’s chancelor Angela Merkel.

In a press release, the demonstrators referred to themselves as migrants who were fighting for their rights. Many of them marched together with their whole families but carried only some bags or just a backpack. Although the majority were from Syria, other nationalities were present too. Some had lived in Turkey for years, while others had e.g. just come from Lebanon or Jordan. The people who camped in parks or at the highway waited for Europe to open its borders. This never happened. The Turkish police pushed migrants to go to Ankara, Istanbul or Izmir and arrested hundreds of them.

Pre-departure migrant camps planned for Greek islands

Ekathimerini – Greek authorities are planning the creation of pre-departure detention facilities on the eastern Aegean islands, where thousands of migrants and refugees remain stranded, so as to accelerate returns to Turkey. Officials say that the creation of closed-structure facilities, each with a capacity of 150-200 people, is key to taking some of the pressure off the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros, which have borne the brunt of the influx.

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