Turkey plans to introduce work permits for Syrian refugees, minister says

Turkey plans to offer Syrian refugees work permits in order to encourage fewer of them to migrate, Volkan Bozkır, Turkey's minister for European Affairs, said on Monday, amid EU pressure to reduce the flow of migrants.

Bozkır was speaking after meeting European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who last week said the European Union was far from satisfied with Turkey's efforts to prevent migrants from crossing the Aegean Sea to Greece.

"We are trying to reduce the pressure for illegal migration by giving Syrians in Turkey work permits," Bozkır told reporters in Ankara.

Turkish authorities detained more than 150,000 illegal migrants in 2015, about 500 migrants daily, Bozkır also said.

Turkey is the world's biggest host of refugees amid the greatest global movement of refugees ever recorded...
 [todayszaman.com by Reuters]
11/1/16