- The vast majority of people arriving on the Greek islands from Turkey to seek asylum are not being returned, as was demanded under an EU-Turkey migrant swap deal.
Maria Stavropoulou, the former head of the Greek asylum service, told Kathimerini newspaper on Sunday (11 February) that only 16 percent of the asylum seekers can be sent back to Turkey.
"Given what we know about Turkey, those who can be shipped back are mostly Syrians, who enjoy a high level of protection," she was cited as saying in the Greek newspaper.
The EU and Ankara had patched together an agreement in March 2016 to stem the flows of asylum seekers from Turkey to the Greek islands, in exchange for political and financial concessions. The deal included the EU doling out billions to help Syrian refugees in Turkey.
A key part of the agreement involved that for every Syrian being returned to Turkey from the Greek islands, another Syrian would be resettled to Europe from Turkey directly.
Fewer than 2,000 have been returned between March 2016 and November 2017, according to the European Commission. Around 12,000 Syrians have resettled from Turkey.
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