EU Agrees Common Position on Migration Plan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - EU leaders have agreed a joint position on a plan to send thousands of migrants back to Turkey, Luxembourg's prime minister said.
The proposal will be presented to Turkey's Ahmet Davutoglu by European Council President Donald Tusk for its approval on Friday, Xavier Bettel confirmed in a tweet.
"Agreement on EU position, @eucopresident will present it to Turkish Prime Minister before our EU Council tomorrow," he wrote, Sky News reported.
A senior EU official emphasized what had been agreed was "not a deal but a common position" to allow negotiations to move forward.
He said Tusk understood "everyone's red lines" ahead of the talks with Davutoglu, who said this morning he was hopeful it would be possible to find "common ground with the EU" on the migration crisis.
If the Turkish prime minister objects to the proposal, EU leaders will have no option but to meet again to reconsider their position as the wave of refugees continues.
The leaders of the 28 EU member states have been meeting in Brussels to discuss a plan aimed at easing Europe's worst migration crisis since the Second World War.
The proposal on the table, described as a "one in, one out" policy, would see migrants who arrive in Greece, but who do not qualify for asylum, sent back to Turkey.
For every person that Turkey accepts, a Syrian refugee would be resettled in Europe.
Turkey is also asking the EU for billions in additional financial aid, an acceleration of its bid for EU membership and visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to the EU.