Migrant crisis, EU and Turkey outline hopes for agreement,

The EU and Turkey say they have agreed the broad principles of a plan to ease the migration crisis at a summit in Brussels, but delayed a final decision. European Council President Donald Tusk said irregular migrants arriving in Greece would be returned to Turkey. For each migrant returned, Turkey wants the EU to accept a Syrian refugee on a one-for-one basis, and offer more funding and progress on EU integration.

In a statement, EU leaders said they broadly supported a deal that included: the return of all new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands with the costs covered by the EU the resettlement of one Syrian from Turkey to the EU for every Syrian readmitted by Turkey from Greece speeding up of plans to allow Turks visa-free travel in Europe, with a view to lifting visa requirements by June 2016 speeding up the payment of €3bn ($3.3bn; £2.2bn) promised in October, and a decision on additional funding to help Turkey deal with the crisis. Turkey reportedly asked for EU aid to be increased to €6bn ($6.6bn; £4.64bn) preparations for a decision on the opening of new chapters in talks on EU membership for Turkey Speaking at a news conference after the summit, Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey had made a "bold decision to accept all irregular illegal migrants... based on the assumption that for every one Syrian readmitted by Turkey from the Greek islands another Syrian will be resettled by Europe." Refugees and migrants sit in the rain near the gate at the Greek-Macedonian border near the Greek village of Idomeni, on 7 MarchImage copyrightGetty Images Image caption Some 13,000 migrants are stranded on Greece's border with Macedonia But he said it was important to see the refugee deal as a package, to include progress on Turkish integration within the EU. The BBC's Chris Morris in Brussels says that, although this new initiative is bold, it could spark fierce argument and its implementation will not be easy. But, he says, the EU clearly needs Turkey's co-operation if it is to begin coping with the migration crisis. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the proposals could be a major step forward if realised, stressing that "irregular migration" needed to be turned into "regular migration". French President Francois Hollande also hailed progress at the talks, indicating that aid to Turkey could be increased. After the summit concluded, Luxembourg PM Xavier Bettel tweeted that Mr Tusk would "take forward the proposals and work out the details with the Turkish side before [the 17-18] March" migration summit. Jump media playerMedia player helpOut of media player. Press enter to return or tab to continue. Media captionBBC correspondents describe the scene at pressure points of the crisis UK PM David Cameron said EU leaders did have "the basis for a breakthrough", which would mean that all migrants arriving in Greece could be returned to Turkey. However before the summit, he stressed the UK would not take part in any resettlement scheme, saying: "We have an absolutely rock-solid opt-out from these things." Earlier a spokesman for Hungarian PM Viktor Orban - who has taken a strongly anti-immigrant stance - said he had vetoed the plan to resettle refugees in Europe. Last year, more than a million people entered the EU illegally by boat, mainly going from Turkey to Greece. Some 13,000 migrants are currently stranded in northern Greece, after Macedonia strictly limited the numbers allowed to pass through to all but a trickle. The future of the Schengen agreement - which allows passport-free travel in a 26-nation zone - is on the agenda, as the leaders are anxious to save a system thought to bring billions of euros to Europe's economy every year.