"We cannot organise or stem the refugee movements without working with Turkey," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel told other EU leaders at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
Already hosting more than two million Syrians, Turkey has become a launching point for refugees - among them Syrians, Iraqis, Afghans and others - who set out to make it to Europe, often by way of dinghy boats in the Mediterranean Sea.
Senior EU officials were in Turkey on Wednesday to press the government to accept a plan that was first presented to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels the week before, and were due to report back to the leaders.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, was ready to offer Turkey up to three billion euros in aid to seal the deal, European sources told the AFP.
Building walls
In exchange for its assistance, Turkey - a long-standing candidate for EU membership - requested more money and a concrete measures towards visa-free European travel for Turkish citizens.
Ankara has also rejected calls for more refugee camps to be built in the country.
French President Fracois Hollande, however, said that there will not be "unconditional visa liberalisation" in exchange for "Turkey keeping refugees in its country".
- Meanwhile, the Hungarian government announced Thursday it had completed construction of a wall along its southern border with Croatia, to stem the influx of refugees.
Croatia said more than 4,800 people had entered on Wednesday, bringing the overall number of arrivals in the EU member state to nearly 175,000.
There are growing fears that Europe's passport-free Schengen zone could collapse as countries try to curb the huge numbers of refugees criss-crossing the continent.
Refugees drown
Leaders will also discuss a possible safe zone that Turkey wants to establish on its border with war-torn Syria.
As leaders gathered, seven refugees, including four children, drowned Thursday after their boat collided with a Greek rescue vessel near the Greek island of Lesbos - the current point of entry for 20 percent of refugees arriving in the EU.
More than 3,000 refugees have drowned while crossing the Mediterranean this year.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for action to help his debt-hit country and the continent as a whole.
"Support for Europe's frontline countries, with respect and solidarity to the refugees, is for our common European interest," he said.
Source: Agencies
aljazeera.com
15/10/15
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EU offers Turkey a possible €3bn in aid and the prospect of easier travel visas and "re-energised" talks on joining the bloc in return for its help stemming the flow of migrants to Europe.
ReplyDeleteEU leaders at a summit in Brussels said they agreed on an "action plan" with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to cooperate on improving the lives of two million Syrian refugees in Turkey and encouraging them to stay put.
They also agreed to coordinate border controls to slow the influx of migrants crossing Turkey from Asia.
In formal conclusions agreed in talks that ended after midnight, Turkey was offered an accelerated path to giving its citizens visa-free EU travel, provided it met previously agreed conditions.
Progress would also depend on Ankara showing real help in slowing migration and would be reviewed next spring.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said it was clear that Europe's efforts to filter and process refugees would not work without Turkey's cooperation.
"The hotspots alone won't solve the problem," she said.
French President Francois Hollande stressed that Turks would not be getting visas on easier terms..........REUTERS..........http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/1016/735171-eu-offers-turkey-closer-ties-for-migration-help/