Dominating the agenda is the refugee crisis.
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The leaders also stressed that for the integrity of Schengen to be safeguarded, “it is indispensable to regain control over the external borders”.
“In this context, we agreed to rapidly examine the European Commission’s proposal of strengthening the EU’s external borders, including the European Border Guard idea”.
EU President Donald Tusk said that all the heads of state and government of the EU countries agree on the need to protect the Schengen Zone.
In addition to Merkel and Davutoglu, the meeting on Thursday was attended by nine other EU leaders, Timmermans, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Parliament President Martin Schulz.
Within this framework, the European Fisheries Control Agency will contribute substantially to improving border control: by sharing information, assets and intelligence with the new European Border and Coast Guard Agency and with the European Maritime Safety Agency. “That’s why this marks a big change – more border guards and more equipment available for crisis management would give the agency more operational autonomy”.
But Mrs Merkel described Thursday’s special meeting between Turkey and eight European Union nations – including Belgium, Austria and Greece – as “very good”.
Frontex said arrivals to the Greek islands halved in November from the month before but mainly because of harsher weather conditions, and a new policy by Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), which does not let through migrants of certain nationalities. Nonetheless, the European Union has planned a 2016 finances for the agency of 238 million euros ($260 million).In accordance to the International Organization for Migration, greater than 920,000 people have entered the European Union up to now this yr. The inflow has overwhelmed national border guards & reception capacities, notably in Greece, where some 770,000 migrants have arrived, a lot of them from Turkey.
Many of those feeling conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa have arrived via the Greek islands, via Turkey, and they are still pouring into Greece in their thousands daily.
“For me it’s a very positive proposal because it’s in line with the needs we have and it’s also in line with the reality”, Leggeri told Reuters in an interview.
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Amnesty worldwide, meanwhile, has warned that the protection of the EU’s external borders must not come at the expense of refugees’ rights.
