EU's Tusk in Turkey for migrant talks

'For the first time since the beginning of the migration crisis, I can see a European consensus emerging, ' Tusk said in his letter.

Some 442,000 applications were submitted in Germany, the top destination for refugees and migrants, followed by 174,000 in Hungary, which erected barbed-wire fences and used security forces to shut people out, and 156,000 in Sweden, it said.

"We are waiting (to learn) the numbers of migrants that can be received in destination countries... and this is going to determine the daily quotas of migrants allowed to enter Macedonian territory", Poposki added.

He said that Greece "cannot be the "black hole" of Europe" and that the EU's offer of €300m in aid, while welcome, should not be mistaken for a solution to the crisis.

Tusk, who is touring countries worst affected by the mass movement of people through Europe, said the situation along the Western Balkan migration route is "really dramatic, and so we must act with determination to improve it". Macedonian police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants who stormed the border from Greece on Monday.

The budget, European Union officials say, is based on an assessment of needs drawn up with member states and United Nations agencies.

 The €700 million is a significant increase on the €22 million spent so far on various aid measures for Greece and other eastern European countries, including non-EU Serbia.

The camp is a magnet for people hoping to reach Britain and many have refused to leave for other accommodation, although there has been no repeat of the violent clashes that erupted on Monday.

"To many in Europe the most promising method seems to be a fast and large scale mechanism to ship back irregular migrants arriving in eece" he said.

The commission's plan calls for a new European border and coastguard to start operating in the summer and for overwhelmed Greece to receive more support in securing its border with Turkey.

"I want to appeal to all potential illegal, economic migrants wherever you are from. It is all for nothing", Tusk said, according to AFP. He also announced the first 95 million euros in aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey for education and humanitarian projects. "It is a global issue that is tormenting Greece and Turkey now, and affecting the rest of Europe".

"We don't want to allow them", Mr Toskas said.

 Around 8,000 people have been stranded - many for more than a week - on the Greece-Macedonia border, in increasingly squalid conditions, with shortages of food, water, shelter and sanitation.

But Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras poured cold water on Tusk's optimism, saying his country, the main port of entry for migrants coming to Europe, could not stop migrants heading to the richer northern countries like Germany. "Restoring borders between two Schengen countries will destroy the common market", he said.

At the European Council in February, European leaders agreed to organize a special meeting with Turkey to speedy implementation of the EU-Turkey action plan, in order to stem migration flows and tackle networks of traffickers and smugglers.

At least 2,000 new migrants are registered in Greece every day.

Source: EU's Tusk in Turkey for migrant talks