BRUSSELS (Sputnik) – EU leaders have agreed to allocate at least €1 billion (about $1.1 billion) to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and other countries in the region through UN programs, European Council President Donald Tusk has announced.
"It is clear that the greatest tide of refugees and migrants is yet to come. Therefore we need to correct the policy of open doors and windows. Now the focus should be on the proper protection of our external borders and on external assistance to refugees and the countries in our neighborhood," Tusk said early on Thursday, after an informal summit on migration.
The European Council President said that the money pledged by EU leaders will go to the UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency) and the United Nations World Food Programme.
Tusk also told reporters that EU leaders have agreed to cooperate on hotspots.
"It would be unfair to put all the burden [of migrant influx] on Italy or Greece or other countries," Tusk said, adding that "all [EU] leaders agreed that hotspots will be set up by the end of November."
The new measures will not end Europe’s migrant crisis, Tusk stressed, explaining that there are 8 million displaced people in Syria and about 4 million who have fled from Syria to neighboring countries with all of them set on one objective, saying "we are determined to get to Europe."
As part of its budgetary support initiative for the next six months, the Commission has proposed to increase emergency funding for the most affected states, such as Italy and Greece.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that it was imperative to negotiate with countries like Turkey, which has accepted nearly 2 million refugees, most of them from crisis-torn Syria.
Merkel expressed hope of finding a common solution to the migrant issue with countries in the Middle East. The German Chancellor also said that it was necessary to work out effective ways of distributing the refugees within Europe and establishing registration centers.
Tusk told reporters on Thursday after the informal summit on migration that he plans to hold a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on October 5 to discuss the migrant crisis.
