EU delegation to visit Turkey to discuss refugee plan
16:52, 13/10/2015, TuesdayU: Update: 16:56, 13/10/2015, Tuesday
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According to the plan, EU has offered a billion euros ($1.13 billion) in humanitarian assistance for refugees hosted in Turkey
An EU delegation will arrive in Turkey Wednesday to continue negotiations over an action plan to halt the flow of refugees into Europe.
The plan was proposed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and presented to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 5.
According to the plan, EU offered a billion euros ($1.13 billion) in humanitarian assistance for refugees hosted in Turkey.
Juncker is dispatching a European Commission delegation, expected to reach Ankara on Wednesday, and led by European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans; it will be accompanied by EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn and EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos.
Under the draft agreement, which will be further negotiated between EU and Turkish officials in Ankara this week, Turkey is expected to take measures to improve border security; increase cooperation with Bulgaria and Greece; and strengthen the Turkish Coast Guard.
"Our teams were active on the ground in Turkey and now the moment has come to move to action and to agreement with these contacts at political level, which will allow progress to be reported to the European Council," European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a news conference in Brussels on Tuesday.
EU heads of government are set to gather in Brussels Thursday to discuss the situation in Syria and the worst refugee crisis facing the 28-nation bloc since World War II.
