BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — He added that the implementation of the agreement remained challenging.
"The EU-Turkey statement was a game changer which allowed us to brake the cruel business model of smugglers exploiting human misery and putting people's lives in danger. We hear many voices criticizing the agreement but we hear none providing viable alternatives that would have saved as many lives," Schinas told reporters.
Amid Ankara's tensions with the Netherlands and Germany over rally bans, Turkish officials threatened to reconsider the deal.
On March 18, 2016, the European Union and Turkey agreed upon a deal, with Ankara pledging to take back all undocumented migrants who come ashore in Greece if EU countries receive Syrian refugees resettled from Turkish camps on a one-for-one basis.
On March 15, Greece researcher at Human Rights Watch Eva Cosse said the migrant agreement was "an unmitigated disaster" for refugees and migrants, as they were trapped in rough conditions on Greek islands.
