BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – The European Council president stressed, however, that "an agreement with Turkey makes sense only if it effectively contains the flow of refugees."
"We welcome the agreement of an EU-Turkey joint action plan to tackle the current migratory crisis," Tusk said at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, adding that the agreement is a "major step" in the direction of stemming the influx of refugees.
President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker said that the exact shape of the EU-Turkey joint action plan has been agreed with the Turkish side.
"The joint action plan pursues two objectives," Juncker said, adding that one of them is making sure that the refugees that are currently in Turkey stay there while the other one is making sure that no refugees pass via Turkey into Europe.
According to Juncker, the European Union has also agreed to speed up the process of easing visa access for Turkey.
In a letter issued ahead of the Thursday crisis meeting, European Council President Donald Tusk said EU leaders were engaged in intense talks with Turkey as the biggest transit country for Syrian refugees.
Turkey has requested a free movement deal with the bloc and expedited EU accession.
The talks in Brussels will continue into Friday. This is the fourth summit this year to focus on the migrant issue, after hostilities in the Middle East and Africa prompted a record number of asylum seekers to seek a better life in Europe.
