BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The European Union and Turkey might hold a summit on migration in late November after forming of a new government in Turkey, the European Council President said Thursday.
"We are ready to hold a special summit of 28 member states with Turkey as soon as possible. I do not have a date yet, but it could still be this year after a new government has been formed. It is very likely that it will be at the end of November," Donald Tusk said after an informal EU summit on migrants in Malta.
According to Tusk, relations with Turkey and the country's role in confronting the current refugee crises were the main points of discussion during the meeting.
In October, EU leaders agreed to provide $3.4 billion in financial aid to Turkey and activate the process of establishing visa-free EU travel for Turkish citizens. In return, Ankara pledged to do its best to curb the influx of asylum seekers crossing its borders to reach Europe.
The European Union is currently struggling to cope with a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of people leaving conflict-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa for Europe. Over 1.2 million illegal border crossings have been detected by the EU border agency Frontex since the beginning of 2015.
