EU agrees on Turkey action plan on refugees

European Union leaders have backed Turkey's action plan which is to ease migrant flow into Europe, a European Council press release read. In line with the agreement reached on October 15, EU countries will implement accelerated visa liberalization for Turks willing to visit the EU's borderless Schengen area - if Turkey complies with certain criteria. "Our intensified meetings with Turkish leaders here in Brussels,  Ankara, and in New York in the last couple of weeks, have been devoted to one goal: stemming the migratory flow that goes via Turkey to the EU. The action plan is a major step in this direction," Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council said in his remarks after the summit. EU leaders agreed to work on an integrated border management system that will go beyond the Frontex mandate. In  the coming months, the agency will be developed into a more operational body, Tusk informed. "Member States will be ready to send hundreds more border guards to Frontex and EASO to secure the hotspot areas in Greece and Italy," he explained.