Migrants arriving in Greece could be sent back to Turkey from Sunday after a proposed 'one in, one out' scheme won the approval of EU leaders in Brussels.

Any migrant arriving in Greece from March 20 will be given a swift individual interview to determine whether they will be allowed to remain or sent back to Turkey under the scheme from April 4.

After less than an hour of discussions, the prime ministers of Finland and the Czech Republic tweeted from inside the European Council negotiations to announce that the 28 leaders had given their approval to the arrangement, which gives Turkey significant con

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, David Cameron, centre, and French President Francois Hollande were all at the summit in Brussels today

But David Cameron faces a Tory backlash over the high price of the deal, which includes billions of pounds in aid and the fast-tracking of Turkey’s application to join the EU.

It will also involve a controversial swap arrangement that, in return for those sent back from Greece to Turkey, will see the EU allow in an equal number of Syrian refugees from camps in Turkey – although Mr Cameron insisted none would come to Britain.

Even as they agreed the deal, Turkish officials said they had intercepted 3,000 migrants trying to make the crossing to the Greek island of Lesbos.

European Commission president Donald Tusk admitted it would be a ‘Herculean task’ to get the returns scheme in place.

It will need 4,000 staff on the ground, at a cost of up to £235million.

But it is the plans to give Turkey access to the EU’s Schengen zone that are likely to prove most controversial.

Turkish citizens will be given access to the zone from June, provided the country meets a number of conditions, including the introduction of biometric passports.

The deal is also understood to promise visa liberalisation for Turkey's 77 million inhabitants, who could be granted visa-free access to the EU's Schengen borderless zone - which does not include the UK - from this summer.

Under the scheme drawn up by European Council president Donald Tusk and Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu (pictured), any migrant arriving in Greece after March 20 would be given a swift individual interview to determine whether they will be allowed to remain or sent back to Turkey

Turkey's Prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu (left) shakes hands with French President Francois Hollande (right) next to David Cameron (centre). The 28 EU leaders have given their approval to the deal with Turkey

Prime Minister David Cameron (left) and French President Francois Hollande (left) arrive at the talks today

The EU and Turkey also agreed to open a new 'chapter' in Turkey's long-stalled bid for membership of the EU - Chapter 33, on budgets - by July. It said preparations for other chapters would continue 'at an accelerated pace'.

Critics warned the deal would effectively create a visa-free travel zone stretching from Calais to the Syrian border. Tory MP Peter Bone said: ‘This means that millions more people will be free to travel across Europe to Britain’s borders, where some will no doubt try to cross the Channel.

‘Speeding up Turkey’s EU membership... is definitely not what the British people want. The public does not want to give free movement rights to 77million Turks to come to Britain.

‘And we’re giving the Turks more money – it is a triple whammy.

‘It is a disaster. And there is only guarantee that it does not happen, and that is to vote to leave the EU.’

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave said: ‘The EU is creating a visa-free zone stretching from the English Channel to the Syrian border and has given Turkey the nod that it will be admitted as full member of the European Union.

‘That will be bad for Turkey, bad for people seeking refuge, and bad for Britain as the EU is an outdated and outmoded institution incapable of dealing with challenges of the 21st century. This shows just how risky it is to vote to remain in the EU.’

Conservative MEP Timothy Kirkhope, a former Home Office minister, said: ‘I genuinely hope that this agreement makes a difference but I fear by this autumn we will look back and realise it was a very costly error that turned Greece into a processing camp.’

The deal offers Turkey up to £4.7billion in EU aid to help deal with refugees, of which Britain will contribute £500million. It also pledges to ‘re-energise’ moves to let Turkey join the EU. Mr Cameron insisted it was a ‘good deal for Britain’, adding: ‘For the first time in this crisis we have a plan that, if properly implemented, could make a difference.

BBC 'GUILTY OF PRO EU BIAS' BBC’S Newsnight has been accused of ‘institutional bias’ in the EU referendum coverage. An independent investigation looked at coverage on the flagship news programme and found its presenters interviewed twice as many supporters of remaining in the EU as those backing leave. In 25 feature items about the EU over the past two months, one-on-one exchanges were shown with 12 people advocating an in vote compared to just six backing Brexit, says the study by monitoring group News-Watch. Of all guests in 40 items, including in group discussions, there were 25 people backing remain and just 14 supporting leave. The BBC was recently praised for its balanced coverage of the debate but the study said Newsnight gave ‘much greater prominence’ to backers of the EU. A BBC spokesman said the figures did not provide a representative picture, adding: ‘The show provides impartial information about both sides of the argument.’ Advertisement

He said that ‘we need to make it work in practice’ but it had the potential to smash the ‘business model’ of the people-smuggling gangs, as migrants getting on a boat in Turkey would no longer have any chance of resettlement in the EU.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage said that the agreement made a vote to leave the EU more likely in the referendum on June 23.

'Giving visa-free access to Turkey will mean increased numbers of people coming to Europe,' said Mr Farage 'And fast-tracking an unstable Turkey into EU membership is madness.

'I feel more confident than ever that Turkey in means Britain out.'

A spokesman for European Council president Donald Tusk said that the agreement made clear that any removals would have to be 'in full compliance with international and EU law' and that there would be no 'collective expulsions'.

He added: 'The cut-off date is March 20 - that is on Sunday. All migrants arriving after that cut-off date will be returned after individual assessment.'

The spokesman said the new arrangements would come into force at the end of Sunday, so the first migrants facing return would be those crossing the Aegean Sea to the Greek islands on Monday morning.

In a statement responding to the deal, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said applicants in Greece should have 'the right to appeal before any readmission to Turkey'.

'Reception and other arrangements need to be readied in Turkey before anyone is returned from Greece. People determined to be needing international protection need to be able to enjoy asylum, without discrimination, in accordance with accepted international standards,' it said.

'How this plan is to be implemented is thus going to be crucial. Ultimately, the response must be about addressing the compelling needs of individuals fleeing war and persecution.'

Workers attach barbed wire to a border fence to prevent illegal crossings by migrants at the Bulgarian-Turkish border near the Bulgarian village of Shtit

A migrant child eats as others sit around a fire in a railway repairs hangar where people have set up their tents at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni, Greece

Mr Tusk's spokesman later confirmed that the EU leaders had agreed the conclusions and were entering talks with Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu to formally adopt the agreement, which was made 'unanimously'.

The new deal marks the conclusion of months of intensive diplomatic effort to secure Turkish assistance with a migrant crisis which saw more than one million people enter Europe last year - the majority of them via Greece.

The EU will accept one Syrian refugee for resettlement from camps in Turkey for each irregular migrant returned to the country, in a move which is intended to break the business model of people-smugglers by dissuading migrants from attempting the sea crossing.

The agreement addresses Turkish concerns about the slow delivery of three billion euros (£2.3bn) promised by the EU last November, by including a commitment to identify within the coming week a list of projects which will receive funding.

A further three billion euros are being made available after the initial tranche of support runs out.

The EU has also agreed to 're-energise' its relations with Turkey by accelerating talks on eventual accession to the EU, which began in 2005 but have long been stalled.

As the 28 EU leaders met behind closed doors in Brussels, Finnish PM Juha Sipila sent a message by Twitter to declare 'Turkey agreement was approved', while the Czech Republic's Bohuslav Sobotka said: 'The agreement with Turkey approved. All illegal immigrants arriving in Greece from Turkey starting from March 20 return back!'

There were also talks over the threat of a renewed surge of migrants attempting the Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy over the summer.

Earlier in the day, Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was scathing about the reluctance of EU nations to take in refugees from Syria, saying: 'At a time when Turkey is hosting three million, those who are unable to find space for a handful of refugees, who in the middle of Europe keep these innocents in shameful conditions, must first look at themselves.'

As the summit agenda was extended to allow protracted talks with Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu, David Cameron chaired a meeting of leaders from Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Malta, as well as High Representative on Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini, to discuss the threat of a renewed surge of migrants attempting the Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy over the summer.

The Prime Minister wants the EU to open talks with the newly established government of national accord in Libya to expand its anti-trafficking operation into the North African state's territorial waters.

'Like a concentration camp': A migrant woman and two children walk through the gate of a hangar where people have set up their tents at the northern Greek border point of Idomeni

Turkey's leader has highlighted the 'shameful conditions' facing migrants making their way through the EU amid criticism of his own country's human rights record. Migrants are pictured camping on the Greece-Macedonia border

At present, EU ships - including one Royal Navy vessel - are able to intercept migrant boats in international seas, but Mr Cameron believes that taking action closer to the Libyan coastline will improve its chances of turning boats back and deterring migrants from setting off at all.

Some 1.2 million migrants arrived in Europe over the course of last year, and while the bulk of them took the shorter sea route from Turkey to the Greek islands, more than 150,000 attempted the more dangerous crossing from Libya.

Mr Cameron said the EU must not 'take its eye off the ball' in the central Mediterranean because of the focus on Turkey.

It comes as Bulgaria deployed extra police and troops on its border with Macedonia in a joint exercise aimed at tackling a migrant influx, the defence ministry announced today.

The two countries say they are preparing for every scenario as thousands of migrants remain blocked at Idomeni, on the Greek-Macedonia border.

Panagiotis Kouroublis said seeing the squalid Idomeni camp (pictured) on the Greek border with Macedonia was so distressing it felt like receiving 'several blows to the stomach'

'We are seeking better coordination to tackle the migration crisis,' said Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev, who watched the exercises, involving troops and police, with his Macedonian counterpart.

It was the second such exercise, which aims at dissuading migrants and traffickers from attempting to enter Bulgaria from the southwest.

On March 5 Bulgaria deployed more than two hundred personnel to its southern border with Greece.

Bulgaria fears a large influx of migrants following the closure of the 'Balkans route' from Greece through Macedonia and Serbia.

An EU member which is not in the passport-free Schengen zone, Bulgaria has so far been largely spared the continent's worst migration crisis since World War II.

However, the country has recently seen increased pressure along its 275-kilometre (170-mile) border with Turkey, which allows the migrants to avoid the dangerous sea crossing to the Greek islands.

Sofia has erected a 95-km razor wire fence on its border with Turkey.

European leaders on Friday reached agreement with Turkey on a deal to curb the huge flow of asylum seekers to Europe, with all migrants arriving in Greece from Sunday to be sent back.

Friday's deal makes Turkey Europe's bulwark against its biggest migration crisis since World War II.

Last year some 30,000 migrants arrived in Bulgaria via Turkey with at least the same amount crossing the country clandestinely, according to estimates.

BREXIT COULD COST UK FAMILIES £6,000 A YEAR SAY LEFT-WING ACADEMICS British families would see their incomes fall by up to £6,500 a year if voters decide to leave the EU, say researchers at the London School of Economics. The study – condemned as scaremongering by Brexit compaigners – suggested that losing access to the single market would have a more damaging effect on the economy than a financial crash. Trade with other European countries would fall as tariffs make British goods more expensive, the university’s Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) said, leading to a fall in living standards. The study by the LSE, which has long been seen as a bastion of Left-wing politics, said even if the UK negotiated a Norway-style trade deal with the EU, British households would still see their incomes fall by £850. ‘In the long run, reduced trade lowers productivity,’ it said. ‘Factoring in these effects substantially increases the costs of Brexit to a loss of 6.3 per cent to 9.5 per cent of GDP (£4,200 to £6,400 per household). ‘This is a larger decline than the decline in UK GDP during the global financial crisis in 2008/09.’ CEP director Professor John Van Reenen said: ‘Our work leaves little doubt that there is a serious cost for real wages and pensions from leaving the EU.’ But Leave campaigners insisted it was wrong to say that the UK would not be allowed to remain in the single market if we left the EU. Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliot said: ‘These ridiculous claims lack credibility as they come from the same economic sages who said we would better off scrapping the pound. ‘Back then we were also warned jobs and trade would be at risk if we didn’t join the euro. 'Such claims were wrong then, and they are wrong now.’ .... WRONG, IT WOULD BOOST OUR ECONOMY SAYS INVESTMENT BOSS One of Britain’s most successful self-made entrepreneurs has said the ‘unknown’ of leaving the EU could inspire the country and boost the economy. Pro-EU campaigners claim that a Brexit would be disastrous for the UK, hitting jobs, trade and foreign investment. But Peter Hargreaves, the billionaire co-founder of FTSE 100 investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said it would provide the UK with a fresh start and help to boost innovation. Quit: Richard Branson said the UK would be 'punished' by EU members if it quit the single market Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: ‘I’m firmly convinced that day – hopefully – we decide to leave, that little bit of insecurity, that little bit of unknown will be an absolute fillip to everyone. It will be a great incentive for us to go out and prove that’s right.’ Mr Hargreaves, 69, said strong demand for goods made in the UK – from Rolls-Royce cars to Burberry trenchcoats – would enable the British government to strike quick and favourable trade deals with EU members. He added that concerns about the impact of the financial sector – particularly on the City of London – were overblown. Bankers would not want to move to Paris or Frankfurt because of the higher taxes and London’s attractiveness as a place to live, he said. But Sir Richard Branson warned yesterday that Britain would be ‘punished’ by EU members if it decided to quit the single market. He said: ‘I can’t quite see why the EU are suddenly going to be nice to Britain if we leave. If I was in their shoes I would want to punish them.’ Advertisement

Leaving would set Britain free - top official by John Stevens Brussels Correspondent for The Daily Mail



Ministers could seize on an exit from the EU as a liberating chance for a revolutionary overhaul of British laws, a senior UK official has said.

A vote to leave could be used for the biggest shake-up of Whitehall ever seen, with unpopular EU laws ditched or rewritten in a ‘sovereign British way’, the official said.

Years of legislation on health, justice, agriculture and employment would be reworked from top to toe in a decade-long process, he suggested.

The civil service has previously been accused of scaremongering over the impact of a Brexit, with dossiers warning of the possibility of economic chaos should there be a vote to quit the EU.

Liberating: An anonymous senior UK official said an exit from the EU could be 'liberating' for law reform

Although there would be a period of turmoil, the senior official said, there would be an opportunity for a Eurosceptic-dominated government as the country ‘unshackled itself from the corpse of the EU’.

He anticipated that such a government would take over after a decision to leave, and that it would get the chance to scrap red tape such as the Working Time Directive that restricts how firms do business.

A Ministry of Trade would be set up in Whitehall to strike trade deals with countries around the world.

Speaking anonymously, the official said: ‘Every area from agriculture to fisheries to financial services to energy to justice and home affairs – you would go through every area covered by the 35 areas covered by accession and have some process of de-accession, disentanglement,

‘In every area of public life and government life, I think people would want to go through with a fine-tooth comb and be asking the civil service: Now we are free to do what we want, what do you want to do with that freedom?’

Red tape: The official said an exit would allow the government to scrap the Working Time Directive

He added: ‘Every legislative programme for five or ten years would be dominated by re-regulating and re-legislating everything in a sovereign British way. Every part of Westminster would want to do that.

'We would not have unshackled ourselves from the corpse of the European Union in the area of employment regulation in order to replicate everything that we used to have from Brussels employment regulation – else what was the point?’

The official said: ‘On June 24 [the day after the referendum], we would be having a very lively debate about what do we want to use our new autonomy and sovereignty for, and which areas. Very crudely, I think about it as a trade-off between sovereignty, autonomy, ability to regulate, legislate in your own areas in your own fashion – Westminster free to do what it wants – and market access.’