European Council President Donald Tusk is due to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to try to strengthen their joint approach to Europe’s migration crisis. Mr Tusk has raised the idea of shipping back migrants who arrive in the Greek islands from Turkey. He said that it could break the business model of people smugglers. Mr Tusk has been engaged in intense diplomatic activity ahead of an EU-Turkey summit to be held on Monday.
French President Francois Hollande is also hosting the German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris today to discuss the migration crisis. Thousands of refugees and migrants are continuing to arrive on the Greek islands every day after setting off from the Turkish coast.
Yesterday, MrTusk talked with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens and appealed to illegal economic migrants not come to Europe. Later, after meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara, Mr Tusk said the number of migrants crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to EU states remained far too high.
The International Organization for Migration says 120,369 migrants have arrived in Greece from Turkey so far this year and at least 321 have died en route.