Whilst the EU-Turkey migrant deal remains in its infancy, crucial concerns about the agreement’s validity and capacity threaten to render it a temporary solution at best. The brokering of the deal means that since March 20^th, all asylum seekers who land in Greece face potential deportation back to Turkey as ‘irregular migrants’. The agreement is an attempt to deal with Europe’s growing migrant crisis and has been framed by the EU in humanitarian terms, claiming to be designed to stop refugees from taking the perilous Aegean route which has claimed hundreds of lives. However, the deal has been controversial from the outset, drawing criticism from human-rights organisations, who in particular question Turkey’s status as a ‘safe’ country.

The cooperation between Turkey and the European Bloc represents a positional turnaround for the EU. Until recently, the EU has condemned Turkey’s human rights record and the state’s discriminatory attitude towards Syrian migrants. On April 1^st, Amnesty International reported that Syrian refugees entering Turkey were still being pushed back across the border. In light of the deal, Amnesty has accused the EU of

“turning it’s back on a global refugee crisis and willfully ignoring its international obligations”.

In particular, the logistical challenge of implementing and maintaining the deal are concerning. To adhere to international law, the deal must allow for each migrant arriving in Greece to be given the chance to make an individual claim of asylum. However, this requires manpower – the EU has pledged 400 new asylum experts, but only a few dozen had arrived in time for the launch of the agreement. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, acknowledged that the deal represented a “Herculean task” and that it was “the biggest challenge the EU has ever faced”. Yet this sentiment has done little to alleviate concern over how the deal will be able to fare under the immense pressure it is sure to face.

Action to address the flow of migrants into Europe is unquestionably necessary, however the EU-Turkey deal is threatening to make refugees pawns in a largely diplomatic struggle. In return for it’s assistance, the EU will provide Turkey with 6 billion euros from now until 2018, will work towards giving Turkish citizens visa-free access to the EU Schengen Zone and furthermore, has agreed to re-energize Turkey’s bid to join the European bloc. This payout will afford the EU some breathing room from increasing domestic pressure to address the crisis. Yet the deal does little to address the key security and human rights issues faced by refugees. Whilst Greece waits on the necessary infrastructure to properly implement the deal, thousands of migrants are also waiting, in sometimes squalid conditions. And whilst the deal may deter refugees from taking the dangerous Aegean route, it is also likely that given the nature of the conflicts driving migration, refugees will try to seek other, potentially more perilous routes. Ultimately, this deal fails to comprehensively address the driving forces of the migration, prioritizing political expediency over long-term solutions.

Nevertheless, the deal continues– albeit tenuously.  On April 4^th the first group of migrants were sent back from Greece – around 200 individuals, mostly from Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, increasing tension between Turkey and the EU bloc leave critics and supporters alike wondering if the deal is about to collapse. The EU is placing pressure on Ankara to make agreed upon changes to Turkey’s anti-terror laws, whilst Ankara claims that the EU is adding new hurdles to the deal. This early into the resolution, the long term expediency of the deal seems unlikely at best.