Turkey is seeking an extra three billion euros in aid under a deal with the EU to curb the flow of migrants to the continent, European Parliament head Martin Schulz has revealed.
Under a stalled deal clinched in November, the EU has already pledged three billion euros (£2.3bn) to aid refugees on Turkish territory in return for Ankara's cooperation in tackling Europe's worst refugee crisis since the Second World War.
Although Turkey has complained it is yet to see any of these initial funds, a European source today said that if agreed, the extra money 'would not be a blank check' and would come with specific demands of the Turks.
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Sprawling shanty town: Tents are spread across acres of land at a temporary refugee camp on the Greek-Macedonian border near the northern Greek village of Idomeni where thousands of migrants are stranded after Skopje limited border crossings to a trickle
Tented slum: At a summit in Brussels, EU leaders are seeking to shore up support for Greece where thousands of migrants are stranded
A girl plays with a hula hoop in a makeshift migrant camp at the Greek-Macedonian border near the Greek village of Idomeni on Monday
Refugee children play on the railway tracks as they wait to enter Macedonia in the refugee camp near Idomeni, northern Greece
A man holds his child close to the gate at the where some 13,000 migrants are camping while they wait to cross into Macedonia
A refugee boy looks out from his tent in a camp on Greek-Macedonian border, near Idomeni, northern Greece
'The Turks have asked for more money: three billion euros before 2018,' Mr Schulz said after attending an EU-Turkey summit dedicated to the migrant crisis. 'It will require additional budgetary procedures. The European Parliament is prepared to speed up the procedures.'
It comes as Hungary plans to cut subsidies for refugees and drastically reduce the space available in migrant detention centres, in a move that a human rights body complains is aimed at forcing refugees to leave the country.
According to draft legislation published by the Hungarian government today, from April 1 those who were granted some kind of protection or asylum will be allowed to stay in a camp for only one month, instead of the current two months.
The decree also said the maximum space available in holding centres should be identical to that prescribed in prisons.
The government, which has imposed hardline policies throughout Europe's migrant crisis, will also eliminate some subsidies, such as funds aimed at supporting education, for those who receive protection.
Last year, just 508 asylum seekers received some kind of protection in Hungary, including asylum, according to data from the immigration office.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government has been one of the harshest opponents to the refugee crisis, having erected a steel fence on the country's southern borders to keep the migrants out and introduced tough legislation to punish those who tried to cross into Hungary illegally.
Meanwhile, David Cameron today declared there is 'no prospect' of Britain joining a common European Union asylum system and stressed that the UK keeps its own borders to prevent migrants getting into the country.
Arriving in Brussels for talks on the migration crisis, the British Prime Minister insisted that the UK's opt-out from the Schengen agreement meant there could be no question of Britain joining any new asylum quota process.
'We have an absolutely rock-solid opt-out from these things so there is no prospect of Britain joining a common asylum process in Europe,' he told reporters.
'We will have our own asylum approach, our own way of doing things, keeping our borders. It underlines the best of both worlds, the special status that we have.'
Hundreds of refugees wait to enter Macedonia in front of the closed border gate at the Greek-Macedonian border near Idomeni, Greece
Migrant children hold on to the fence as they wait to enter Macedonia in front of the closed border gate at the Greek-Macedonian border
A Macedonian police officer closes the border gate in front of refugees waiting to enter Macedonia at the Greek-Macedonian border
Kept out: EU leaders are expected to declare the main Balkan migrant route closed, after Macedonia – backed by Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary – limited border crossings to a trickle. They will also push for Turkey to take back tens of thousands of migrants
Mr Cameron's comments followed reports that the European Commission is preparing to bring forward proposals to centralise control of asylum claims.
He also said Britain would be affected by the migrant crisis even if it votes to leave the European Union in the referendum in June.
'Even outside the EU, we would be affected by the migration crisis like this, he added. 'But at the end of the day we maintain our borders and our own way of doing things because we have the best of both worlds.'
Under the EU's current asylum system, known as the Dublin rules and which apply to Britain, individual countries must register and process asylum claims on a national basis and that responsibility falls to the first EU state a refugee enters.
A future system could see the EU centrally overseeing asylum applications – one of several ways proposed to prevent a repeat of countries like Greece and Italy handling hugely disproportionate numbers.
There are concerns that a revision to the Dublin rules could deprive Britain of the right to deport asylum-seekers to the state where they entered the EU.
The EU executive is due to present proposals for reforms of the system next week.
His comments came as EU leaders arrived for the summit to press Turkey to do more to stop migrants from entering Europe and to shore up support for Greece, where thousands of people are stranded.
They are expected to declare the main Balkan migrant route closed after Macedonia – backed by Austria, Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary – limited border crossings to a trickle.
Ahead of the summit, some 14,000 people were camped by Greece's border with Macedonia hoping desperately to be allowed to cross.
Refugees wait to enter Macedonia in front of the closed border gate at the Greek-Macedonian border near Idomeni, northern Greece
Humanitarian organisations estimate that the number of migrants stuck at the Greek-Macedonian border crossing had swelled to 14,000
Glum: A man holds a child as they sit with others near the gate at the Greek-Macedonian border. EU leaders are holding a summit with Turkey to back closing the Balkans route and urge Ankara to deport large numbers of economic migrants from overstretched Greece
Refugees play with a balloon as they wait to enter Macedonia in front of the closed border gate at the Greek-Macedonian border
A child plays on a rail track at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni where thousands of migrants are stranded
The leaders are holding talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who said he hopes the summit will mark a turning point in EU-Turkey ties, adding that the meeting is as focused on Turkey's future EU membership as on the refugee emergency.
'Turkey is ready to work with the EU, and Turkey is ready to be a member of the EU as well,' Mr Davutoglu told reporters, expressing hope that the talks 'will be a success story and a turning point in our relations'.
However, Davutoglu wants faster moves to negotiate Turkish membership of the EU and an immediate easing of EU visa rules for Turks.
'The Turks are negotiating very hard,' a senior EU diplomat said. Another spoke of alarm that hard bargaining could disrupt talks to reunite Greek- and Turkish-speaking parts of Cyprus.
EU leaders are likely to tell him of concerns about human rights after the Turkish government seized control of a critical newspaper.
But EU officials said they will also be anxious not to alienate Ankara just as hopes are rising of a solution to the crisis.
No compromises: Prime Minister David Cameron arrives for an EU summit in Brussels, where he said there is 'no prospect' of Britain joining a European Union asylum system and stressed that the UK keeps its own borders so migrants can't get into the country
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives for a summit with Turkey on the migrant crisis on at the European Council in Brussels. EU leaders will press Turkey to do more to stop migrants from entering Europe and to shore up support for Greece, where thousands are stranded
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives for the summit. He has urged his EU partners to put long-agreed migrant plans into action
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrives for an EU leaders summit with Turkey in Brussels to discuss the migrant crisis
European Council President Donald Tusk, the former Polish premier who will chair today's talks, had barely left a meeting with President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday and declared cautious optimism on the migrant crisis when police seized the newspaper.
'It's a slap in the face,' one senior EU official told Reuters after EU envoys met in Brussels on Sunday evening.
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.'
NATO said on Sunday a new naval force secured approval for operating in Turkish and Greek waters.
That will lend force to a deal with Turkey to take back migrants halted in its waters and those who reach Greek islands but fail to qualify for asylum.
Arriving for a meeting with Davutoglu on the sidelines of the summit, Greece's prime minister urged his EU partners to put long-agreed and long-delayed migrant plans into action.
Children living in the Calais Jungle take part in a demonstration against the destruction of their camp by offering white roses to police
Also taking part in the demonstration were a group of Iranian hunger strikers some of whom had sewn their lips together in protest
Police are in the process of bulldozing half of the Jungle camp in Calais and evicting thousands of migrants
Protesters living in the Calais Jungle migrant camp take part in a demonstration against the destruction of their camp by French police
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told reporters that 'rules are for all, and everybody has to implement our common decisions.'
'If there are agreements that are not implemented there are not agreements at all,' he said.
EU leaders agreed in September to share 160,000 refugees arriving in Greece and Italy over two years.
As of March 3, fewer than 700 people had been relocated to other European countries.
Human rights group Amnesty International hit out at the leaders for using Turkey as a buffer to stop migrants, calling the move 'a dangerous and deliberate ploy to shirk their responsibilities to people fleeing war and persecution.'
'Europe has an absolute duty to protect refugees and must make the bold decision to fast-track significant, unconditional resettlement as a matter of urgency,' said the group's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia, Gauri van Gulik.
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