At the height of the refugee crisis in October 2015, over 7,000 asylum seekers crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece per day. This created problematic conditions for refugees in reception centres and overwhelmed Greece as a first country of entry to the EU. In this setting, the EU-Turkey Statement was concluded with the aim of managing migration across the Aegean Sea and curbing arrivals to the EU. Whilst the Statement was effective in reducing the number of arrivals, many NGOs and human rights organisations have expressed their concern about refugees’ human rights. Two years after it was adopted, this joint EPC-FES conference took stock of how the Statement was implemented and looked at the lessons learned. It critically considered the political context that provided the impetus for the Statement and reviewed the concerns voiced by civil society organisations. It also assessed the Statement’s future, including recent proposals to replicate its framework in the context of the EU’s relations with other third countries.

Speakers included: Marie De Somer, Head of Migration and Diversity Programme, European Policy Centre, Renate Tenbusch, Director, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung EU Office, Paraskevi Michou, Director General for Migration and Home Affairs, Faruk Kaymakcı, Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Turkey to the EU,Eduard Rodier, Director, Norwegian Refugee Council Europe, Abdullah Ayaz, Acting Director General for Migration Management, Ministry of Interior, Turkey, Manolis Vournous, Mayor of Chios, Greece, Charlotte Alfred, Managing Editor, Refugees Deeply, Jill Alpes, Visiting Researcher, Free University Amsterdam; Independent Consultant, Irune Aguirrezabal, Head of the Policy and Programme Support Division EU, International Organization for Migration, Violeta Moreno-Lax, Senior Lecturer in Law, Queen Mary University of London, Ralph Genetzke, Head of the Brussels Mission, International Centre for Migration Policy Development, Catherine Woollard, Secretary General, European Council on Refugees and Exiles, Birgit Sippel, Member of the European Parliament, S&D, Anitta Hipper, International Relations Officer Western Balkans, Turkey, Ukraine, Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, Giulia Laganà, Senior Policy Analyst, Open Society European Policy Institute, Alexandra Stiglmeyer, Senior Policy Analyst, European Stability Initiative, Sophie Magennis, Head of the Policy and Legal Support Unit, Bureau for Europe, UNHCR.