Over 100,000 Spaniards Oppose EU-Turkey Migration Deal - Petition

MADRID (Sputnik) – A group of Spanish non-governmental organizations on Wednesday submitted a petition demanding that Madrid oppose the EU deal on migration with Turkey, which has gathered over 100,000 signatures, to the lower house of the country’s parliament.

Earlier in the day, all factions of Spain’s lower house of parliament agreed that Spain should not support the bloc’s agreement with Turkey.

"This agreement, if supported by Spain, could form a basis for serious human rights violations and non-compliance by Spain with its international obligations…The EU will violate some basic principles of international law if it approves the agreement proposed by Turkey," the group's statement said.

One of the organizations which proposed the petition, Oxfam Intermon, said in a statement that it believed Spain should put pressure on the bloc for it to develop mechanisms to accommodate all asylum seekers in Europe, regardless of their nationality and refugee reception quotas established in the European Union.

Protests against the current EU refugee agreement with Turkey are expected to be held across dozens of Spanish cities later on Wednesday.

Earlier in March, Ankara pledged to take back all undocumented migrants that had arrived to the European Union and send in their place documented Syrian refugees on one-for-one basis in exchange for a total of 6 billion euros ($6.6 billion), the acceleration of visa liberalization negotiations and EU accession talks.