Happy days are here again, na na, na, na, na....

[JohnF]

Well, that's it approved.  Three billion fecking euros heading Turkeys way way to "deal with the migrant crisis".

Get yer shoeboxes out folks...  oh wait a minute, sorry, its all gone.

JF

[usedbustickets]

Shoeboxes aside, the BBC report does say 'The organisation (EU) hopes the fund will lower the number of arrivals into EU nations.' LMAO.  You really cannot make this up.  Do they really believe it will make a jot of difference to the numbers trying to get into europe. 

I bet Dave C welcomes this announcement, and its timing, as he tries to hold together his party and convince the country with the meagre returns he has brought back to the UK to keep us in the EU.  Goes on like this and I think there could well be an out vote at the referendum.

[Stuart T]

They're not satisfied just reaching "Europe" though.

Their plight and desperate need to escape the horrors of war in their home country(ies) is wholly understandable.

Having reached Turkey, France, Italy, Greece etc. they're well away from the ravages of Syria and other war - torn areas.

Why then, the desperate need to continue on to the UK?

Answers on a very large postcard, I think.

You may well be right about the forthcoming referendum.

[Colwyn]

Why then, the desperate need to continue on to the UK?

.You mean the relatively few of them who aren't trying to get to Germany or Sweden?

[Stuart T]

I was thinking more along the lines of the thousands in "The Jungle" in Calais desperate to get here than the millions seeking refuge in Europe as a whole.

Why leave safe France for Britain?

Shouldn't asylum be sought in the first European country they arrive in?

The bigger picture - refugee quotas; the UK share; benefits; provision of homes etc. is an ongoing political football.

Germany, Hungary, Sweden may well have far greater numbers of asylum seekers as a simple result of their agreement to take more in.

I understand that we have refused to accept a quota system here - perhaps wisely.

I fully accept that we should, reasonably, do our bit but to adopt an "open door" policy rather than our current "maybe not enough" approach would surely result in many, many more continuing on here.

We have an established black market economy with access to many cash in hand jobs. Our benefits system is better than many. Were it not for our physical separation from mainland Europe the numbers arriving surely be many times greater.

[simpsons]

My view is that Turkey will take the 3 billion euros, and any other sweeteners that the EU has to offer, to combat the migrant crisis, and then do what they are good at. Doing absolutely NOTHING! After all, why stop those migrants leaving Turkey, heading for Europe. Turkey doesn't want them.