"We need to hold a summit with Turkey as soon as possible, because the solution [to the migrant crisis] requires the implementation of all the measures that we have agreed with Turkey. The first step is to find a solution for the protection of the [EU] external borders," he told reporters prior to the second working session of the ongoing EU summit in Brussels.
Consultations between Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and European Council President Donald Tusk on the matter could take place on Thursday, but were canceled due to the recent terrorist attack in Ankara.
Turkey currently hosts over 2 million Syrian migrants, who fled across the border to escape violence in their home country. Syria has been locked in an armed conflict involving government forces, various opposition factions and radical Islamist militant groups for almost five years.
On November 29, the European Union and Turkey approved a joint plan to counter the influx of migrants into the bloc, under which EU member states will give some 3 billion euros (over $3.3 at the current exchange rate) to Ankara and fast track the negotiations for its accession to the 28-nation bloc.
