欧盟各国领导人商讨移民问题

Leaders of the European Union and Turkey will meet on Thursday and Friday to work out further details on stopping the migrant influx to Greece from Turkey's shores, as well as handling the relocation of asylum seekers. Germany lobbied for an EU-Turkey deal on migrants on Wednesday, but cautioned the bloc would not endorse an agreement at any cost.

The biggest refugee influx since World War Two. The EU is now pinning its hopes on a deal with Turkey. Under it, Turkey would seek to stop refugees' dangerous sea journeys, and take back illegal migrants from Greece.  For each Syrian it accepts, it would send one to the EU in a more orderly redistribution program.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says the closing of the Balkan migrant route should concern all of Europe.

"What's decisive is that conditions do not change which Turkey must fulfill to achieve a visa liberalization. They are and will remain unchanged. By the way, there's still a lot left to resolve and we'll ensure that these conditions will be fully met," Merkel said.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans made clear on Wednesday that the provisional deal is not offering Turkey "a free ride."  He said Ankara's requests to open new "chapters" of its long-stalled negotiation on accession to the bloc would need the agreement of EU member states.

"Visa liberalization for Turkish citizens rests on the fulfilment of clear conditions. For the Commission, there can be no shortcuts, the only way to get there faster is to make faster progress in fulfilling the benchmarks," Frans said.

Meanwhile, some 12-thousand migrants on the Greece-Macedonia border are still stranded in the midst of heavy rains, illnesses, and food shortage.

Despite this, their heads are still up, wishing that the borders would open.