The European Union is pressing Ankara to cut the number of migrants reaching Greece by sea to less than 1,000 a day in return for taking refugees directly from Turkey, EU officials said, desperate to see results from a deal agreed last year.
Facing a humanitarian crisis in Greece, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed for an emergency EU summit with Turkey on March 7 in Brussels that will follow days of intense diplomacy with Ankara to save a Nov. 29 deal meant to stem migrant flows.
“There is no good alternative to an effective cooperation with Turkey,” said European Council President Donald Tusk before heading to Ankara to hold talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan Thursday.