The issue was not discussed at the summit.
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They have also agreed to coordinate border controls to slow the influx of migrants crossing Turkey from Asia. So far only a fraction of that money has been delivered. European Union diplomats worry that Erdoğan may use the migration crisis as added leverage.
European leaders are holding talks in Brussels on Thursday over how to cope with the continent’s worst migration crisis since World War Two.
Merkel said the narrow sea channel separating Greece and Turkey was in the hands of the smuggling rackets. “Turkey after all has already spent €7 billion on refugees and has received less than €1 billion”, Ms Merkel told reporters after the summit.
Many pointed to the significant role of Turkey in the crisis.
Adding to uncertainties in negotiating any deal with Turkey is the turmoil that adopted a bombing Ankara blames on both Kurds or Syria-based mostly Islamists, in addition to a snap parliamentary election on November. 1 that may decide Erdogan’s future energy.
In the summit’s spotlight was the ambitious deal, previously drafted between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
But the EU’s political priority has changed. But this would be conditional on a series of steps, notably on taking back migrants who transited Turkey and were denied refugee status in the EU.
They have dangled the carrot of progress in Turkey’s long-standing European Union membership talks, which have stalled over its human rights record.
“The accession process needs to be re-energized with a view to achieving progress in the negotiations in accordance with the negotiating framework and the relevant Council conclusions”, they said, in language couched cautiously to reflect concerns in Cyprus and other states about easing off pressure on Ankara.
The suspects have received “substantial financial gain” from running the ring charging sums of up to 10,000 euros ($11,500) for a single trip from Turkey to Finland, officials said. “Cooperation is necessary so we can deal with the big inflows and dangers, but at the same time this cannot mean that there will be any retreat in matters of national sovereignty”.
The Frontex border agency will be allowed to deploy rapid-response teams to areas where migrant arrivals peak.
According to the Bulgarian delegation, one migrant was killed when shooting erupted between a group of migrants and Bulgarian border guards on Thursday.
EU leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels into the early hours of Friday agreed to give “political support” for an action plan for Turkey to help it manage its refugee emergency, including easier access to EU visas and sped-up EU membership talks. “We insisted that this visa liberalisation will happen on an extremely precise and monitored basis…”
The operations chief for Europe’s top law enforcement agency says established organized crime networks are making new connections as they jump into the business of smuggling migrants hoping for a better life.
The chances of a meaningful pact with Ankara are slim in the short term and would probably entail Europe agreeing to take numerous Syrians from among more than two million hosted by Turkey.
“France alongside other countries, will be very attentive that the conditions that put on this are respected”, he added.
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Turkish officials have not publicly released details of their demands. Erdogan has also asked the European Union create global “safe zones” and no-fly zones for refugees located in northern Syria following Russia’s bomb threats in support of Assad. Reacting to the news of the death after the summit, Tusk said that the incident has shown the need for external borders protection.
