BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union leaders are lauding it as a breakthrough; Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu says it’s bold; but it is still too early to say whether an in-principle agreement thrashed out between EU and Turkish leaders announced early Tuesday is the answer to all of Europe’s refugee woes.
The deal could see thousands of migrants coming to Europe returned to Turkey. In exchange, the EU would accept thousands of Syrian refugees, bringing them in by safe routes and keeping them out of dangerous boats and out of the hands of traffickers.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
Turkey would take back migrants who are picked up in the Aegean Sea that separates Turkey from Europe or who have arrived in Greece but have not applied for asylum there. Based on a “one-for-one” principle, European nations would accept migrants from Turkey who are likely to obtain asylum. That probably means only Syrians.