Finland Times

Sipilä’s made the remark at a meeting with European Union leaders and the Turkish prime minister in Brussels.

Sipilä said the EU member states are not yet ready to take refugees directly from camps in Turkey before the country leadership demonstrates commitment towards cooperation.

In practice, this means Turkey should enhance border control and other measures to curtail influx of would-be immigrants. 

“The starting point is of course that, if this works, then, for example, the influx via Tornio will end,” Sipilä said. 

The number of new arrivals passing through Turkey has dropped in the recent past, but this could be as a result of other factors such as deteriorating weather condition.

Around 4,000 immigrants have arrived in Greece from Turkey since a cooperation deal between the EU and Turkey was signed, according to a report by the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in Luxembourg.

Before the signing of the cooperation, the number of arrivals was between 5,000 and 6,000 daily.

“To some extent the number has dropped, but it is not enough,” Sipilä observed. 

According to Sipilä, countries most affected by the crisis and with the greatest interest in achieving the cooperation with Turkey to get quick results were represented in the meeting.

Besides Finland, Germany, Austria, Sweden and the Benelux countries where too many immigrants have arrived compared to their populations were represented in the meeting.

If Turkey plays its role, the EU countries are prepared to take refugees from camps in Turkey on a voluntary basis.

Sipilä said the figures were not discussed during Thursday’s meeting.

The refugees will be transferred in the same way it is done with quota refugees.

According to the premier, the country will not be increasing the number of quota refugees. Finland has set the number of quota refugee next at 750 persons.