The EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016 explicitly states that, when implementing the Statement, the EU and Turkey will protect all migrants in accordance with the relevant international standards and in respect of the principle of non-refoulement. Moreover, Turkey provided written assurances, according to which all Syrians and non-Syrians, who seek international protection in Turkey after having irregularly crossed into the Aegean islands via Turkey as of 20 March 2016 and being taken back by Turkey as of 4 April 2016, will enjoy protection from refoulement in line with international standards in accordance with the Turkish Temporary Protection Regulation and the Law on Foreigners and International Protection respectively.
According to the information in the Commission's possession, until 15 June 2016 when the Commission presented the Second Progress report on implementing the Statement, 462 persons who entered irregularly into the Aegean islands via Turkey as of 20 March 2016 have been returned from Greece to Turkey, including 31 Syrians who returned voluntarily, none of whom were forced by Turkey to return to Syria contrary to the principle of non-refoulement.
This said, the Commission has taken note of recent reports from international non-governmental organisations containing allegations of returns of Syrians to Syria contrary to the principle of non-refoulement and has raised these allegations with the Turkish authorities who denied these allegations.