EU-Turkey deal 'not working' - Boldrini

(ANSA) - Rome, May 30 - Lower House Speaker Laura Boldrini said Monday an EU-Turkey accord on asylum seekers is not working. There are political and juridical "problems", she told reporters. The European Parliament has decided not to proceed until they see a commitment from the Turkey side to satisfy all the criteria" contained in the bilateral deal, Boldrini explained. "A Greek court of appeals has ruled Turkey cannot be considered a safe country of first arrival" for asylum seekers, the speaker pointed out. Under the deal which went into effect in the first week of April, the EU will accept one Syrian refugee for every Syrian national returned to Turkey after a failed bid for asylum. Amnesty International human rights NGO said last month that Turkey has been forcibly repatriating asylum seekers from war-torn Syria at the rate of 100 people a day, which is illegal under Turkish, European and international international human rights law.