10,000 refugees from Syria resettled into the European Union from Turkey

As of today, 26 September, the European Union (EU) Member States have resettled 10.042 Syrian refugees from Turkey. This is an important contribution to the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement agreed between the EU Member States and Turkey on 18 March 2016.

The resettlements started on 4 April 2016 and have steadily picked up its pace since then. So far, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Finland, Sweden, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Austria, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Portugal, Latvia, Estonia, and Romania have resettled Syrian refugees from Turkey. Other EU Member States are also expected to resettle in the coming weeks.

The resettlements from Turkey into the EU are carried out jointly by the EU Member States, the Turkish Directorate-General for Migration Management (DGMM), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). DGMM sends a list of particularly vulnerable Syrian refugees[1] to UNHCR. UNHCR conducts further assessments and proposes to the EU Member States candidates who are willing to be resettled to the EU. The EU Member States then make the final decision on the resettlement applications. Candidates who are accepted by the EU Member States are transferred from Turkey to the EU with the assistance of the IOM.

[1] These include for example Syrians who are survivors of violence and torture; women-at-risk; or persons who are in need of legal protection, or intense medical care.