As it becomes clear that winter weather and stricter border controls will not be enough to deter migrants and refugees from trying to reach Europe, the European Union has reached a three-billion-euro deal with Turkey aimed at substantially stemming the influx “with immediate effect”.
The agreement, finalised at a summit in Brussels on Sunday, means that a joint action plan sketched out in October will now move ahead, despite criticism from human rights advocates and migration experts who regard it as “short-sighted” and say it poses more questions than it answers.