Meanwhile back in the superstate with no internal borders, the scale of the task at hand will soon be apparent for all to see, unless of course they don't want to.
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A deal has been done, but - in the words of Jean-Claude Juncker - implementing it will be a Herculean task.
"It is the biggest challenge the EU has ever faced," he said.
It was a sober assessment from the president of the European Commission, which reflects the fact that this is a throw of the dice, a gamble based on deterrence which could well fail.
Scepticism hangs heavy in the air about a host of legal issues, and about whether the agreement can actually work in practice.
The idea at the heart of the deal - sending virtually all irregular migrants back to Turkey from the Greek islands - is the most controversial.
European leaders insist that everything will be in compliance with the law.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-eu-35848181
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And the scale of what will need to be done - and done quickly - on the Greek islands is staggering:
◾Thousands of European officials will have to be dispatched to the islands within a matter of weeks
◾The "hot-spot" reception areas which have been set up over the last few months will have to be turned into detention centres
◾Tribunals will have to be set up to ensure that every refugee and migrant has their case heard on an individual basis, including the right of appeal
◾ Turkish police officers will have to go to the islands to co-operate with the Greek police after decades of trying to ignore each other
"I have no illusions that what we agreed today will be accompanied by further setbacks," admitted Angela Merkel.
"There are big legal challenges that we must now overcome."
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