Belgium: MEPs condemn EU-Turkey deal

MEPs took it in turns to criticise the EU-Turkey refugee deal and the union’s general handling of the crisis, during a European Parliament (EP) committee on civil liberties, in Brussels on Thursday.
Dutch GreenLeft MEP Judith Sargentini expressed her concern over the living conditions in Greece's refugee camps, calling them "detention centres.” She said, "This is people detained; people detained with not enough food. Come on! That there is no outrage yet is unbelievable."
Italian independent MEP Barbara Spinelli deemed the treatment of refugees in Turkey a "shameful situation" and called for the suspension of the deal. She said, "If those requesting asylum are given refugee status, the receiving countries are duty-bound to ensure that they are given protection in full compliance with international guarantees and standards. For the time being, none of these guarantees have been respected by Turkey."
Meanwhile, German Die Linke MEP Cornelia Ernst claimed the EP coordinator, who was chairing the meeting, was refusing to answer her questions, calling the European Commission's lack of response "a scandal."
Greece began deporting refugees back to Turkey from the islands of Lesbos and Chios on Monday, as part of the controversial EU-Turkey refugee agreement. Under the deal reached between the EU and Turkey on March 18, European countries will take in one Syrian refugee directly out of Turkey for every refugee returned from Greece. The EU has offered Turkey €6 billion ($6.7 billion), once an initial €3 billion ($3.3 billion) that was agreed to in November 2015 is spent.
Human rights groups have been heavily critical of the deal, with The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, saying that its implementation could amount to a violation of human rights.