×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Saturday
10
Jan 2026
weather symbol
Athens 18°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Politics

Reuters: EU asks Greece and Cyprus to make concessions to Turkey

Commission paper will propose that opening of five new "chapters" in Turkey's negotiations to join the EU would be "conditional"

Newsroom March 15 10:17

The European Union asks Greece and Cyprus to offer concessions to Turkey hoping to seal a deal on sending back migrants, according to EU new proposal.

The proposal to be presented on Wednesday provides that the Commission paper will propose that opening of five new “chapters” in Turkey’s negotiations to join the EU would be “conditional”, an official involved in drafting the paper told Reuters said.

According to Reuters, this will be done in order to address any threat by Cyprus to block parts of the deal unless Turkey stops opposing the reunification of the divided island.

Moreover, even though that human rights groups and some governments have concerns about the legality of returning refugees en masse to Turkey, the Commission will ask Greece to declare Turkey a “safe third country”.

As Reuters pointed out, this would allow speedier returns, as Athens would be able to send people back even before the end of an appeal procedure for rejected asylum applications.

>Related articles

Mitsotakis marks 10 years at the helm of New Democracy: The path since 2016 and the messages on the ideological identity

Parliament: The bill of the Ministry of Defence on the Armed Forces was passed by majority vote

Immigration Bill: An end to “adult minors” and benefits – Privileges for unaccompanied 17-year-olds are being cut

The Greek authorities will however continue to process asylum applications case-by-case for all arriving migrants, as international rules decree.

According to the preliminary deal, for every migrant returned to Turkey, one refugee would be resettled directly from Turkey to Europe.

In the meantime, the European Union wants to grant Turkish citizens visa-free access if Turkey meets a “critical mass” of legal conditions. However, France opposes to that and asks Ankara to meet 72 requirements before its nearly 80 million citizens can travel to the 28-nation EU without visas.

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

> More Politics

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Severe weather arriving from tomorrow with temperatures dropping by up to 10°C – where it will snow

January 10, 2026

Bloodshed in Iran: Doctor speaks of 217 dead from the unrest, “we are at war,” says Tehran

January 10, 2026

The Syrian army bombs Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo and calls on Kurdish fighters to surrender

January 10, 2026

Mitsotakis marks 10 years at the helm of New Democracy: The path since 2016 and the messages on the ideological identity

January 10, 2026

Stefanos Kasselakis: The family “jewel” in Ekali is up for rent at €20,000 per month

January 10, 2026

Opening access to a market of 300 million consumers for Greek products through the EU–Mercosur agreement: Benefits for olive oil, cheeses, kiwifruit, peaches and bakery products

January 10, 2026

New videos, one from an agent’s body camera, shows the shooting of the 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis (videos)

January 9, 2026

JP Morgan: STOXX will upgrade Greece this year – Which stocks will see significant inflows

January 9, 2026
All News

> Lifestyle

Stefanos Kasselakis: The family “jewel” in Ekali is up for rent at €20,000 per month

Shipowner Haris Vafeias, who purchased it, completely renovated the impressive three-storey villa a year and a half ago. It is one of the most beautiful homes in Athens’ northern suburbs

January 10, 2026

Emily Ratajkowski in Athens with Romain Gavras

January 2, 2026

Sakkari on the marriage proposal from Konstantinos Mitsotakis: “I am a very lucky girl”

January 2, 2026

Konstantinos Mitsotakis proposed to Maria Sakkari

January 1, 2026

Chiara Ferragni: A photo album from her trip to Colombia

December 30, 2025
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα