European Council

According to Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, Turkey sets the "best example" in how it hosts the refugees who have been fleeing the five-year-long civil war in Syria.

He said that during a visit to refugee camps in the southern border province of Gaziantep along with other ranking EU officials and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on April 23. 

European Council President Donald Tusk has praised Turkey's treatment of refugees, saying "it is the best example for the whole world." 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission First Vice President Frans Timmermans will pay a visit on April 23 to the southern province of Gaziantep, where they aim to take stock of the implementation of the March 18 EU-Turkey deal and discuss the next steps.

Belgium has requested an agreement between Turkey and European Union to monitor the movement of foreign fighters, the Belgian interior minister said on April 20.

The EU-mediated meeting of Macedonian political leaders for resolving the country's political crisis has been cancelled after the main opposition Social Democrats declined to attend, the EU mediators have said.

Coming back from the Turkey-EU Summit in Brussels in March, Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu announced that he and his team had carried out strong "Kayseri bartering" and gained what they wanted from the EU in return for an agreement on refugees.

Former European Council President Herman Van Rompuy is this year's holder of the annual award for pro-European policy of Bulgarian TV station Evropa (Europe).

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit Turkey next week with representatives from the European Union, German government spokesperson Steffen Seibert said on April 15. 

Speaking to journalists, Seibert said European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans will accompany Merkel during her visit on April 23. 

A European Council working group on Wednesday pulled from its agenda debates on Serbia's opening of accession chapters 23 and 24, dealing with the rule of law, the judiciary and human rights, after Croatia failed to give them a green light.

“I am appalled by the bombings” European Council President Donald Tusk said in an announcement on Tuesday following the terrorist attacks adding that  Belgium and Europe face a terror threat.