Maltese MEP Alfred Sant has asked the European Commission whether it intends to present detailed guidelines on the resettlement of Syrians under the 1:1 scheme which commenced at the beginning of April.

Dr. Sant also asked the Commission whether it has further information on how many and which EU countries will be ready to voluntarily resettle Syrians via the '1-for-1' scheme. The Maltese MEP further asked the Commission how many Syrians are expected to be resettled from Turkey to the EU through the '1-for-1' scheme and whether the number of 72.000 is enough.

He said one of the major elements of the EU-Turkey agreement, is directly linked to the return of 'irregular migrants' and foresees that for every Syrian returned to Turkey from Greek islands, another Syrian will be resettled from Turkey to the EU.

"The Commission, EU agencies, member states and the UNHCR will assist in establishing this 1-for-1 scheme. The final deal reached on Friday 18 March to return all migrants, including asylum seekers, reaching Greece illegally to Turkey, which came into force this Sunday 20 March, is still leaving several legal and practical questions open," Dr. Sant told the Commission.

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