Schengen Area

Greece has temporarily suspended the return of migrants to Turkey under the EU-Turkey agreement due to a surge in the number of asylum applications.

Most of the 6750 migrants on the Greek islands are applying for asylum and there is shortage of qualified officials such as translators to process the applications.

The European Commission proposed on Wednesdayto establish an entry-exit system to make faster, easier and stronger the border checksfor non-EU nationals travelling to the bloc.

The EU and Turkey are expected on Monday to exchange the first groups of Syrian migrants as had been agreed at a summit in March in an effort to stem the influx of migrants from Turkey to Europe.

European Union’s justice and interior ministers met in Brussels on Thursday after the terrorist attacks in the Belgian capital and said they want a quick completion of the legislation that will tackle terrorism.

At their meeting in Brussels on Thursday, the interior ministers of the EU member states vowed to enhance cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

In the aftermath of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in Brussels, the Dutch presidency of the Council of the EU convened an extraordinary meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) council.

Turkey's government owes the lifting of visas to Schengen Zone members to its people, Turkish EU Minister Volkan Bozk?r has said. 

"The AK Party [Justice and Development Party] government will ensure the lifting of the visa [requirement]. This is our debt to our people, and we really want to make this happen," he said March 24 in an interview with Anadolu Agency in Helsinki.

European Commissioner on Immigration Dimitris Avramopoulos said Europe was at the high point of the refugee and security crises during a press briefing in Brussels. He added, however, that the two should not be connected, while stressing that Europe would remain united in the face of these two crises. ‘To those who want to divide us we respond with more solidarity, cohesion and strength’.

Turkish authorities have begun the distribution of new biometric identity cards in the Central Anatolian province of K?r?kkale, which was selected as the pilot province for the program.

The new "smart" cards, which contain chips, will replace the old versions, which were bigger and contained no information beyond the basic facts printed on them.        

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has voiced suspicions over whether the EU will fulfill its promises as part of the Ankara-Brussels migration agreement and grant Turkish citizens visa-free travel in the Schengen area. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that his country was "long overdue" for a Schengen visa agreement.