Outcome of informal European Council of 7 March 2016 and the informal meeting of the EU Heads of State or Government with Turkey

Briefing 09-03-2016

The informal European Council of 7 March 2016 focused on migration, assessing the state of implementation of previously agreed measures. EU leaders stressed the need to fully apply the Schengen Borders Code, thereby ending the 'wave-through' policy for migrants, providing humanitarian assistance to Greece and moving forward in the EU's cooperation with Turkey. The latter point was also the main focus of the informal meeting of the EU Heads of State or Government with Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu. Leaders agreed to accelerate the implementation of the EU-Turkey Action Plan and welcomed additional proposals made by Turkey. In particular, the lifting of visa requirements should be brought forward to June 2016 and disbursement of the €3-billion Refugee Facility for Syrians should be speeded up.