Migrant numbers from Turkey to EU 'far too high'
(ANKARA) - The number of migrants crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to EU territory remains "far too high", EU President Donald Tusk said after talks with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara on Thursday.
"We agree that the refugee flows still remain far too high and that further action is needed," Tusk said, while praising Turkey for its growing cooperation including more coastguard patrols and a tightening of its visa regime.
"It is for Turkey to decide how best to achieve such a reduction," Tusk said.
Without elaborating further, Tusk floated the idea of a major operation to ship migrants with no right to stay in the EU back to Turkey, smashing the people-smuggler rackets.
"To many in Europe, the most promising method seems to be a fast and large scale mechanism to ship back irregular migrants arriving in Greece," he said.
"It would effectively break the business model of smugglers."
Tusk met Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara after a trip to Greece, which is on the frontline of Europe's worst migration crisis since World War II.
The visit comes ahead of a Monday summit between the EU and Turkey, the main launch pad for hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants, including many from Syria.
Tusk welcomed Turkish actions which he said included the "stepped up efforts of the Turkish coast guard, intensified police controls to combat human trafficking and the tightening of visa requirements."
In a key step, Turkey has in recent months stiffened visa rules for Syrian, Iraq and other nationals, making it much harder for them to travel to Turkey via third countries.
For his part, Davutoglu said: "Neither Turkey nor Europe are responsible for the Syrian crisis. But it is Turkey and the EU which are paying the price."
The Turkish premier reaffirmed Ankara's commitment to the joint action plan with the EU to curb the number of migrants reaching the member states.
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