Nearly 600,000 migrants have reached the EU this year alone mainly by sea, most of them travelling from Turkey. Turkey will receive around €3 billion in aid and fast-track access to visas in return for clamping down on the flow of migrants to Europe.
Speaking today, Mr Evans said;
“This migration crisis is the largest since the Second World War, with the United Nations high Commission for Refugees recently stating that 59.5 million people had been forcibly displaced from their homes during 2014, a figure set to rise considerably in 2015. These figures for the global migration crisis are shocking and more needs to be done.
Many European countries are reacting to this crisis well, with the provision of aid and refuge for displaced people. For instance, Sweden accepted over 2000 refugees in a single day last week.
I firmly believe that Britain will continue to play its part in helping alleviate the suffering of refugees. We are the second largest aid donor to Syria and will provide refuge to 20,000 refugees over the next five years.
However, criminal gangs cannot profit from the trafficking of desperate people and formal structures must be adhered to.
This agreement will help to stem the flow of migrants into the EU reducing the number of migrants making dangerous journeys into the EU while allowing them quicker access to Visas and aid in Turkey.”