October 16, 2015•Update: October 20, 2015
BRUSSELS
EU leaders have agreed to accelerate the visa liberalization process for Turkish citizens seeking to visit the 28-nation bloc’s Schengen borderless zone if Turkey manages to reduce the flow of refugees coming into Europe.
EU heads of government gathered in Brussels on Thursday where they also agreed to "re-energize" talks on Turkey’s accession into the bloc.
"The EU and its Member States stand ready to increase cooperation with Turkey and step up their political and financial engagement substantially within the established framework," the European Council said in a statement on Thursday evening.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has described Turkey as playing "a key role" in the refugee crisis, is set to visit the country this weekend.
"There is still a huge amount to do," Merkel said in Brussels on Thursday. "But you cannot say that we've achieved nothing."
Under the action plan, presented by the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels on Oct. 5, the EU offered 1 billion euros ($1.13 billion) in humanitarian assistance for refugees hosted in Turkey, which has asked for 3 billion euros in aid.
"We need guarantees that Turkey's response to our offer will be as concrete and as substantive as ours," European Council President Donald Tusk said on Thursday.
EU border agency Frontex said Tuesday that 710,000 migrants had entered the European Union in the first nine months of the year, with many travelling through Turkey, which is currently hosting more than 2 million Syrian refugees.
