Texts of all 2015/2016 Agreements between the EU and the Republic of Turkey on migration

The request was partially successful.

Dear European Parliament,

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

the official texts in English of all agreements on migration between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey concluded in 2015 and 2016. I only have access to the text of the Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Turkey on the readmission of persons residing without authorisation (Ankara, 16 December 2013), but I would like to have access to the agreements referred to in the press releases of March 2016 (for instance: European Council of the EU, Statement of the EU Heads of State or Government, 7 March 2016; European Commission - Fact Sheet, EU-Turkey Agreement: Questions and Answers, Brussels 19 March 2016; etc.). If no formal agreement has been concluded between the EU and the Republic of Turkey, I would like to know why the term "agreement" is used in the press releases, and in any case I would like to read all relevant official texts related to the joint action on migration enacted by the EU and the Republic of Turkey and exchanged in 2016 (not just press releases). Thank you.

Yours faithfully,

Ilaria Tani

AccesDocs, European Parliament

OUR REF A(2016)4624

Dear Ms Tani,

We acknowledge receipt of your request. You will receive a reply within 15 working days.

Best regards

TRANSPARENCY – ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS
EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service
Directorate for the Library

AccesDocs, European Parliament

Our ref. :  A(2016)4624

 

Dear Ms Tani,

 

In reply to your request, please note that information and details on EU
Agreements is to be found on:

[1]http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/docume...

 

In the case of agreements  were Parliament involvement is foreseen under
the Treaty provisions (e.g. Article 218 TFEU), information concerning the
procedure is to be found in the Legislative Observatory:
[2]http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/searc...

Search results can be refined using different criteria: Legal basis (e.g.
Art. 218 TFEU), subject, etc. A search for all procedures based on Art.
218(6a) TFEU would yield the results you see by clicking on this link:
[3]http://bit.ly/1WHxsJE.   

 

Concerning documents and statements of the European Council, as in the
case of the 18 March 2016 EU-Turkey statement, please visit:

[4]http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/europe...

 

Regarding the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan on Migration (agreed ad
referenda on 15 October 2015 and activated on 29 November 2015 at the
EU-Turkey summit) you will find the implementation reports on the European
Commission’s Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs website:
[5]http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/wha...

 

As you addressed your request to Council and Commission as well we trust
you will receive further information from their side.

 

Best regards,

 

 

TRANSPARENCY – ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service

Directorate for the Library

AccesDocs at ep dot europa dot eu

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/docume...
2. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/searc...
3. http://bit.ly/1WHxsJE
4. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/europe...
5. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/wha...

Dear AccesDocs,

thank you for your reply.

In the databases that you indicated, there is no mention of the 2016 Agreement between the Union and the Republic of Turkey referred to by many official press releases (e.g., http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEM... http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEM...). I should draw the conclusion that no legally-binding agreement is in force between the two parties.

Under these circumstances, I would be grateful if you could answer the two following questions:
- why the term "agreement" and the expression "implementation of the agreement", which have a precise legal meaning, have been used by the official press of the EU institutions, leading the general public to believe that a binding committment is in place between the two parties, while no agreement is actually in place?
- is it possible under the Treaties that the elements of such "non-existing agreement", i.e. the disbursement by the Union of the considerable financial resources reported by the press (billions) as well as the decision to transfer hundreds of people from the Union's territory to a third country can be implemented without prior parliamentary scrutiny?

I am requesting access to all relevant official documents which may contribute to answer my questions above.

Thank you very much for your assistance.

Yours sincerely,

Ilaria Tani

AskEP, European Parliament

A(2016)04624

LF/jc

 

Dear Ms Tani,

 

The Citizens’ Enquiries Unit of the European Parliament has been asked to
reply to your further request for information concerning the EU-Turkey
agreement of 18 March 2016, following the reply you received on 22 April
to your request of 8 April for public access to documents.

 

We would inform you that the formulation of the agreement reached on 18
March 2016 is reflected in an [1]EU-Turkey statement, in which Turkey and
the European Union reconfirmed their commitment to the implementation of
their joint action. It took as its basis the principles set out in the
[2]Council's statement of 7 March 2016, in which Turkey confirmed its
commitment in implementing the bilateral Greek-Turkish readmission
agreement to accept the rapid return of all migrants not in need of
international protection crossing from Turkey into Greece and to take back
all irregular migrants apprehended on Turkish waters,  and was further
clarified in a [3]communication by the Commission on the next operational
steps in EU-Turkey cooperation in the field of migration of 16 March 2016.

 

'This new phase in EU-Turkey cooperation to tackle the migration crisis
will require concerted efforts from Greece and Turkey, supported by the
Commission, EU agencies and partner organisations. It will also require
the support of Member States, both in terms of the provision of personnel
and the willingness to make pledges for resettlement.', concludes the
Commission's communication.

 

With regard to the European Parliament's intervention on the issue, a
debate with Council President Donald Tusk and Commission President
Jean-Claude Juncker on the [4]conclusions of the European Council meeting
of 17 and 18 March 2016 and the outcome of the EU-Turkey summit took place
during the plenary session in Strasbourg on Wednesday 13 April 2016.

 

Following the debate, a [5]resolution on the progress report in Turkey
was adopted on 14 April 2016. Further information is available in the
[6]EP press release of 14 April 2016, as well as the [7]speech of the
European Parliament's President, Mr Martin Schulz, at the European Council
of 17 March 2016.

 

The European Parliamentary Research Service's publication '[8]EU-Turkey: A
crucial but challenging partnership' may also be of interest to you.

 

With regard to the European Commission, its press service issued a FAQ
document [9]'EU-Turkey Agreement: Questions and Answers' providing
information on the legal bases of the individual elements of the EU-Turkey
statement.

 

For further questions on the terms used by the Commission's press service
please contact the European Commission directly.

 

We thank you for contacting the European Parliament.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Citizens' Enquiries Unit

[10]www.europarl.europa.eu/askEP/en 

 

Disclaimer: Please note that the information given by the Citizens'
Enquiries Unit of the European Parliament is not legally binding.

Please also note that this email box is used for sending emails only.
Incoming emails are not treated. If you wish to contact the Citizens'
Enquiries Unit, please use our [11]webform.

 

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/...
2. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/...
3. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/do...
4. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getD...
5. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getD...
6. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/it/ne...
7. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/the-presid...
8. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/et...
9. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEM...
10. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/askEP/en
11. https://www.secure.europarl.europa.eu/at...