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EU judges have thrown out a case brought by three asylum seekers challenging the legality of the EU-Turkey migrant deal by claiming Brussels was not responsible for the agreement.

Judges blamed inaccuracies in the press release about the deal which indicated the EU, rather than member states, had reached the agreement.

The General Court of the European Union said it lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case which saw Turkey agree to help EU member states tackle the migrant crisis in March 2016 after more than a million people arrived in Europe.

The evidence provided by the European Council shows that it was not the EU but its member states, as actors under international law, that conducted negotiations with Turkey in that area

General Court of the EU

Under the deal, which saw the EU agree to hand over at least 5billion to Turkey to help them stop the crisis escalating, migrants crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands could be deported to back to Turkey.

Two Pakistani nationals and an Afghan national submitted applications for asylum after travelling from Turkey to Greece.

The nationals questioned the legality of the agreement and called for the court to annul the deal between the European Council and Turkey.

But judges threw out the case saying the deal was made between heads of EU member states and the Turkish government under international law and not by the European Council or any EU institutions sparking outrage.

In a statement, the court said: The Court takes the view that the evidence, provided by the European Council and relating to the meetings on the migration crisis held successively in 2015 and 2016 between the Heads of State or Government of the member states and their Turkish counterpart, shows that it was not the EU but its member states, as actors under international law, that conducted negotiations with Turkey in that area, including on 18 March 2016.

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Ankara agreed to the deal in exchange for billions of pounds in funding to help migrants, the promise of visa-free travel for its citizens to much of the EU, and accelerated EU membership talks.

Amnesty International criticised the decision, accusing the EU of sidestepping scrutiny.

John Dalhuisen, Amnesty Internationals Director for Europe and Central Asia, said: There is something very wrong when EU leaders negotiate a deal at an EU summit, publicise it as an EU deal and use EU resources to implement it, but then claim it has nothing to do with the EU in order to avoid judicial scrutiny.

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Migrants try to reach a rescue craft from their overcrowded raft, as lifeguards from the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue all 112 on aboard

The deceit involved in the EU-Turkey deal just keeps growing: first EU leaders pretend that Turkey is a safe country to return refugees to, then they wash their hands of all involvement when this deeply flawed deal comes under the microscope.

Shifting the blame will not change the fact that this deal has brought suffering to thousands of refugees and migrants, and there is an urgent need for it to be reviewed.

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Bungling EU says it NEVER made a migrant deal with Turkey as court rejects asylum bid - Express.co.uk