The European Commission said the number of irregular arrivals of refugees arriving in Greece had fallen by 97% since the implementation of the 2016 agreement. The very few displaced persons in Turkey who can be resettled and the slow pace of transfers mean that the agreement does little for the vast majority of refugees in Turkey, but hinders their opportunities for future movement. In the EU-Turkey agreement, EUR 3 billion of EU funds have been allocated by individual institutions and states to improve the humanitarian situation of Syrian refugees in Turkey. Last month, for example, an additional EUR 3 billion was approved by the European Commission. The EU-Turkey refugee deal, criticised by human rights groups, came after a massive influx of refugees into the EU in 2015 and early 2016, when more than a million people arrived on foot or by boat in the bloc. The 2016 migration agreement went well long before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan resumed his long-standing threat to open borders. Representatives of the Turkish governments had partly expressed their displeasure at the EU`s failure to comply with three provisions of the agreement: the liberalisation of the visa regime, the modernisation of the customs union and the acceleration of negotiations on Turkey`s accession to the EU. They also call for increased support for Ankara`s projects in Idlib, including air cover for the establishment of a “safe zone” and increased humanitarian assistance to displaced civilians in Syria, as well as increased financial assistance to Syrian refugees in Turkey. Since Turkey announced on 28 February that it would no longer abide by a 2016 agreement on access to refugees on its territory and accused the EU of reducing its promises of financial aid, some 35,000 migrants have massed at the border with Greece, where they have been pushed back by the Greek armed forces. Following the opening of the Turkish side of the border, which took place hours after dozens of Turkish soldiers were killed in Syrian government airstrikes, dramatic images of refugees trying to enter neighbouring Greece by sea and land – an EU member – have been widely circulated. The Council is made up of representatives of the Turkish government, the European Council and the European Commission. It is essential to the organisation and direction of relations between Turkey and the EU.

The aim is to implement the Association Agreement in political, economic and commercial matters. The Association Council meets twice a year at the ministerial level.