OREANDA-NEWS. The European Union has already provided Turkey with € 5.6 billion out of the agreed € 6 billion to combat the migration crisis. This was announced on Monday at a press conference in Brussels by the representative of the European Commission (EC) Natasha Berto. "5.6 billion out of 6 have already been allocated to Turkey. The rest will be provided soon", she said. The EC representative once again emphasized that Brussels remains committed to the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement, which was reached at the summit in March 2016. "We are committed to the implementation of the agreement and expect the same from our Turkish partners", she said.

Earlier on September 5, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is ready to open the doors for refugees to Europe if it doesn't receive the necessary support from the West.

At the EU-Turkey summit on March 17-18, 2016, Brussels and Ankara signed an agreement that provides for measures to reduce migration flow. The EU then pledged to allocate € 6 billion to Turkey, introduce a visa-free regime with this country, and also promote negotiations on Ankara’s entry into the community. In exchange for this, all illegal migrants who arrived on the Greek islands from Turkish territory will be sent back to Turkey. The EU must accept directly from the territory of Turkey refugees checked by the Turkish Migration Service, who have received legal status and have a package of relevant documents.

However, since then, Brussels has not fulfilled anything of the promise, except for the gradual allocation of funds, in connection with which Ankara is constantly threatening to suspend the agreement. Signs that Ankara began to carelessly about its obligations to deter migrants appeared in the fall of 2018, when the European Commission recorded an increase in the number of illegal immigrants arriving from the Turkish coast.