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About the Speech:
On 18 March 2016, the EU and Turkey concluded a landmark political agreement on the management of migration along the Eastern Mediterranean route. This political agreement was captured in the so-called EU-TR Statement. According to the Statement the EU and Turkey had decided to end the irregular migration from Turkey to the EU. This was considered a bold plan, considering that in the six months preceding the EU-Statement on average 4000 migrants per day had made risky passage from Turkey into Greek Islands and then onwards to other parts in the EU. In his address, Mr Verwey discussed the implementation of the EU-TR Statement and the implications for Turkey and the EU.
About the Speaker:
Maarten Verwey has been Director-General and Head of the Structural Reform Support Service in the European Commission since July 2015 and on 18 March 2016, President Juncker appointed Mr Verwey as the EU coordinator for the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement on migration. Since October 2015, he has been supporting Greece with the management of the migration crisis, reporting directly to President Juncker. From September 2014 to December 2015, Mr Verwey was the EC representative on the EIB board and the EIF board and played a coordinating role in the implementation of the Investment plan for Europe. From June 2012 to December 2014, he was the EU mission chief for the Cyprus financial assistance program. Mr Verwey was the chairman of the euro task force on coordinated action (2010-2011). In September 2011, he was appointed as Deputy Director-General for Economic and Financial Affairs in the European Commission, responsible for finance and international relations. Mr Verwey started his career at the Dutch Ministry of Finance in 1994.
