18 refugees drown in Aegean Sea off Turkish coast

“Let’s hope that very soon the countries that do not participate in the effort to save all these people will do so”, she concluded.

They were taken to hospital in serious condition, suffering from hypothermia, the agency said.

The number of migrants saved after making failed attempts to cross via sea from Turkey into Europe has increased by over 500 percent in 2015 compared to past year.

EU leaders gather in Brussels on Thursday for a two-day summit which will be dominated by the refugee crisis and Britain’s planned referendum on EU membership, as European Council president Donald Tusk seeks to wrap up negotiations with London on its EU renegotiation bid by February.

“For us it is important to continue work with Turkey on the implementation of the action plan”, Timmermans said.

Although Turkey denies the allegations, Amnesty International said migrants are then held for up to two months without legal justification or external contact.

Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki said Thursday his government “does not want borders with barriers, which is not a long-term solution” but that the country of two million inhabitants faced an “even greater challenge” than Greece in trying to handle the huge numbers of people passing through its territory.

The resettlement scheme is linked to a wider deal with Turkey under which Ankara has pledged to prevent migrants leaving for Greece in return for 3 billion euros ($3.25 billion)from the bloc, accelerated visa-free travel for Turks to the European Union and reviving long stalled membership talks.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive, on December 15 proposed a controversial plan to transform Frontex into the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, with a doubled budget and more authority, in order to better secure the bloc’s frontiers.