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Mr Avramopoulos emphasises the old friendship between the EU and Turkey which goes beyond the current refugee crisis, and points out the global dimension of the crisis. 

Due to the refugee crisis, the EU Commission has been importantly addressing a common European asylum system and an EU migration policy as a whole, seeking a long-term solution. What are the features of the migration policy that we will see in the EU in the future?

The current refugee crisis has shown that the status quo of our asylum and migration management is not an option. The EU needs a robust and effective system for sustainable migration management for the future that is fair for host societies and EU citizens, as well as for third country nationals and countries of origin and transit. The way the refugee crisis has also affected countries along the Western Balkan route is an important example of that. Slovenia has played a crucial role in upholding and implementing a European and collective approach in addressing these challenges.

And such an approach is precisely what we already envisaged in our European Agenda on Migration, but also in our recent proposals to reform the Common European Asylum System. Soon we will also present a reform of the European Blue Card to better attract talent from abroad and an EU Action Plan on Integration to step-up support to Member States in this field. What we need is a comprehensive system grounded on common rules of solidarity and a fairer sharing of responsibility at all levels, because human mobility will be an inherent feature of the 21st century and we have to be better prepared to both seize the opportunities and manage the risks, collectively.

In order to improve border control, the EU has set up hotspots (processing and registration centres) in Italy and Greece. How do these hotspots facilitate access for people who have a legitimate interest in entering the EU?

Our hotspot system is not to manage borders as such, but to better support frontline Member States to screen, identify and fingerprint all the newly arrived migrants, to determine whether they will need genuine protection or not, and to find out more about the smuggling routes used with the help of experts from EU agencies such as the European Asylum Support Office, Frontex and Europol. That is why the full implementation of the hotspot mechanism is fundamental in guaranteeing an effective management of the migration flows at the EU's southern external borders. This means that everyone who arrives at the European external borders is properly screened according to the same rules, as set out according to the Common European Asylum System, and checked for all relevant background information, including security issues. Everyone is interviewed on an individual, case-by-case basis. Under the current relocation mechanism, only Syrians, Iraqis and Eritreans can be relocated. However, that doesn't mean that other nationalities cannot obtain asylum simply in the Member State in which they arrive and apply.

With more than 2.7 million refugees, Turkey is a very important stakeholder in the management of the refugee crisis. It seems that cooperation between the EU and Turkey should be more effective, especially in the fight against crimes such as human trafficking and smuggling.

The current refugee crisis is not a European or a Turkish problem - it is a global challenge and therefore requires a global solution. This means that we have to strengthen our collaboration with key third countries - and Turkey is an essential partner in this.

Both Turkey and Europe are under significant pressure as we are confronted with the same challenges. We have to commend Turkey for hosting around 2.7 million Syrian refugees  and more than 200,000 non-Syrian asylum seekers and refugees, offering them access to healthcare and education and now also employment.  Let me stress that, in recent months, the Turkish authorities have made really substantial progress in fulfilling what was agreed in the 18 March EU-Turkey Statement. As a result of this, for example, they are now fully cooperating with Greece and with the EU on readmission and we see a clear reduction in the number of irregular arrivals to Greece with a continuing downward trend. Thus, I want to be clear: this agreement is beneficial for both sides. It is in Europe's interest to have a democratic and stable Turkey as a neighbour and it is to the interest of Turkey to have EU as a stable supporter and partner. This is an old friendship with a long-term perspective which goes beyond the current refugee crisis.

As far as the fight against trafficking and smuggling is concerned, it is true that we must develop more effective cooperation with not only Turkey, but all relevant stakeholders. On 19 May, I presented the very first report on the progress made to address the trafficking of human beings. It is not only a serious violation of fundamental rights, but also a highly profitable criminal act. This is also valid for smuggling, as smuggling people into the EU has become a EUR 5bn a year multinational business, according to Europol's recent report. And many of the criminals and suspects in both smuggling and trafficking are connected to other forms of crime. This is why we must address not only the risks but also the roots of these crimes, including offering more safe and legal channels so vulnerable people don't resort to dangerous smuggling networks when seeking safety.

Could the global talent migration in the EU make a difference from your perspective and how do you, on the other hand, handle the radicalisation issue?

First of all let me be crystal clear: we should not confuse migration and radicalisation.
In the future we will need skilled migration to address the demographic challenge that many countries in Europe face while, of course, continuing to invest in existing workforce development and addressing unemployment within Europe. This is why, very soon, we will propose a reform of the EU Blue Card to make it more attractive and flexible for foreign talent to come to Europe and also a Skills Agenda to further improve the skills development within Europe. In addition to this, we are also planning a review of our entire legal migration framework to address any gaps or inconsistencies and to make our migration policy more future-proof. Soon I will also present an EU Action Plan on Integration to support Member States concretely across all relevant areas of integration, both for those who have recently arrived as well as those migrants who have already been residing in Europe for a while. As European societies become increasingly diverse, we need to rethink how to make our policies more inclusive for everyone.

With regard to the second part of your question, we need to grasp that terrorism cannot be defeated with security measures alone. The response to radicalisation and recruitment to terrorism needs to be holistic, starting from our neighbourhoods and schools, going up to the judicial system, the police and to the political level. We must re-think our inclusion efforts, our educational structures and our whole approach to promoting tolerance and common values. Prevention is the first and most important step, but a comprehensive security follow-up is equally necessary with increased intelligence gathering and sharing. We have the tools for this: from the Radicalisation Awareness Centre of Excellence for practitioners to the EU Internet Forum which creates a mechanism to fight terrorist propaganda online. And of course, in all of this, our cooperation with key third countries that face similar challenges is essential, both on the prevention side through poverty reduction, ensuring sustainable socio-economic development and rule of law, as well as on sharing of information and collaborating on security follow up - these are critical pieces of the anti-radicalisation and counter-terrorism puzzle.

How does the relocation scheme for Europe operate with Germany along with countries such as Sweden being the most favourable destinations for migrants?

Overall I cannot be satisfied with the progress on relocation achieved so far. By mid-May 2016, just over 1,500 applicants out of the 20,000 target persons have, in total, been relocated from Greece and Italy. More has to be done, and swiftly! We need to quickly respond to the urgent humanitarian situation in Greece and prevent any deterioration of the situation in Italy. The planning for upcoming relocations must be delivered and I have urged all Member States to put in place effective planning to increase their pledges and reduce the response time on relocation requests. Slovenia is progressively relocating refugees from Italy and Greece to comply with its target for this year, and I want to commend Slovenia not only for this, but more generally for the important role it has played in contributing to a European approach of solidarity and responsibility-sharing.

One thing is clear: new arrivals cannot choose the country of asylum they wish to go too. We need a fair distribution mechanism and this is precisely what we have proposed under the reform for Dublin. We need a better sharing of responsibility and solidarity. No country can continue to face these challenges alone.