EU offers Turkey 'visa-free' travel to stop refugee flow

A top EU official said the 28-member bloc has reached an agreement with Turkey principally to step up efforts on visa-free travel, known as the Schengen agreement, for Turkish citizens.

“Efforts will be accelerated on the Schengen matter regarding Turkish citizens and more donations will be offered for migrants," European Council President Donald Tusk told reporters at the end of the seven-hour summit. “For us, the most important thing is how Turkey will cooperate with us to stem the wave of refugees."

His statement was heard after EU leaders convened on the refugee summit Thursday amid growing splits in the continent over fresh arrivals. The summit has focused on tightening EU borders and aiding migrants, who found shelter in Turkey.

Two European commissioners visited Turkey on Wednesday for crucial talks on the migrant crisis. The talks were continuing well until 4:00 a.m. the next morning, officials in Ankara said. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Turkey could not move forward on the migrant issue until the EU takes further steps regarding visa-free travel. “We will certainly not agree to anything before steps are taken regarding visa liberalization," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said during a live televised debate.

Turkey has become the main transit country for refugees and migrants mainly from Syria and Iraq, who set out to Europe for a better future. It has been hosting more than 2 million Syrians, who fled the conflict in their country.

European leaders are wary of granting visa-free access to 78 million Turks. Any visa liberalization is initially expected to be limited to business travelers and students.

In the summit that ended after midnight, Turkey was offered an accelerated path to giving its citizens visa-free travel to the continent, 3 billion euros in aid for refugees and opening the next chapters in its EU accession, if it accepts to fulfill the previously agreed conditions. In recent weeks, EU leaders had suggested to put forward 1 billion euro in aid for the refugees in Turkey, in exchange for Ankara's concrete action to help Europe stem the wave of refugee.

There has been an upsurge in the recent months in the number of migrants attempting to reach Greece on shaky vessels. Close to 480,000 migrants have arrived in Europe by sea this year, and are now reaching European shores at a rate of nearly 6,000 a day, said BBC.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said they agreed on an "action plan" to cooperate on improving the lives of 2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey and encouraging them to stay put, citing his recent meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The agreement reached by Turkey and EU nations is devoted two main goals: The first is to take care of the refugees in Turkey and the second is to stem the refugee flow through Turkey to Europe.

There are also growing fears that Europe's passport-free Schengen zone could collapse as countries try to curb the huge numbers of refugees crisscrossing the continent. “I want to be so clear on this issue. We have reached an agreement without Turkish partners on accelerating visa-free access to the continent but it does not mean that we will move away from the basic criteria," Juncker said, expressing cautious optimism.

Turkish officials earlier this week reiterated that the migration crisis that Europe has been coping with, would only get worse unless the bloody conflict in Syria ends. As Russia fuels its campaign to support the embattled regime by targeting positions of the moderate rebel groups, backed by Turkey and the EU, Ankara has renewed its calls to impose a safe-zone in northern Syria.