DIEM25, the Democracy in Europe Movement, strongly condemns the preliminary agreement reached during last night’s European Union Summit, according to which thousands of Syrian refugees will be returned to Turkey.

DiEM25 finds this agreement shameful and contrary to international laws and treaties, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Art. 19, “Collective expulsions are prohibited”) and the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

The mere tabling of such an agreement undermines further the integrity and soul of a Union that was once more confident in its espousal of humanism, its proclamation of solidarity, and its pursuit of shared prosperity.

If this agreement with Ankara is finalised, Europe will be sending a frightful message to the rest of the world: that men, women and children who managed to survive high seas and the horrors of war, regardless of their status…