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EU leaders to press Turkey, back Greece at migrant summit

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, right, and European Council President Donald Tusk speak to the media during a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, March 3, 2016. Tusk says it is up to Turkey to decide what further measures it can take to reduce the flow of migrants but says many in Europe favor a mechanism that would allow the “fast and large-scale” shipment of migrants back to Turkey and such a mechanism would “effectively break the business model of the smugglers.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, right, and European Council President Donald Tusk speak to the media during a joint press conference in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, March 3, 2016. Tusk says it is up to Turkey to decide what further measures it can take to reduce the flow of migrants but says many in Europe favor a mechanism that would allow the “fast and large-scale” shipment of migrants back to Turkey and such a mechanism would “effectively break the business model of the smugglers.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

By Associated Press March 7, 2016 1 min read

BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union leaders have started arriving in Brussels to press Turkey to do more to stop migrants entering Europe and to shore up support for Greece, where thousands of people are stranded.

The leaders are expected to declare the main Balkan migrant route closed Monday, after Macedonia, backed by Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary, limited border crossings to a trickle.

Ahead of the summit in Brussels, some 14,000 people were camped in Greece at the Macedonian border hoping desperately to be allowed to cross.

The leaders are set first to hold talks at 1130 GMT with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

A draft statement prepared for their talks says they will ensure “comprehensive, large scale and fast-track returns to Turkey of all irregular migrants not in need of international protection.”