EU-Turkey migrant deal is unlikely to succeed

Significance

The essence of the deal is that Turkey has agreed to take back migrants who arrive on Greek islands or are intercepted on the Aegean as of yesterday. In exchange, the EU has agreed to resettle a limited number of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey, increase funding to Turkey to care for refugees and speed up visa liberalisation for Turkish citizens and EU accession talks with Turkey.

Impacts

• EU officials will be rushed to the Greek islands to assist Greece in hearing expedited asylum claims.
• The deal may lead to further tension between EU countries as some may be unwilling to accept refugees to be resettled from Turkey.
• Rushed visa liberalisation for Turks may lead to increased migration from Turkey.