AKIPRESS.COM - The EU is to hold a special summit with Turkey on the migration crisis in early March, officials have announced.

"The EU-Turkey action plan is our priority," European Council President Donald Tusk said after late-night talks at an EU gathering in Brussels. The EU has pledged $3.3 billion to Turkey in return for housing refugees on its territory, reports BBC.

More than a million people arrived in the EU in 2015, creating Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War Two. On Thursday, about 900 migrants were rescued near the Greek island of Lesbos, the EU border agency Frontex said.

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Tusk said a "European consensus" on how to tackle the crisis was needed. "We must do all we can to succeed. This is why we have the intention to organise a special meeting with Turkey at the beginning of March," he said.

Mr Tusk said he would now hold a series of bilateral meetings with EU leaders to further discuss the issue.

Echoing his words, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU-Turkey action plan "is something we will be concentrating on".

She said the number of migrants trying to reach Europe had dropped in recent months, but warned that there was a "clear danger" of a new influx in the spring because of warmer weather.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had been expected to take part in the Brussels' summit on Thursday - but he had to cancel his trip due to a deadly bomb attack in Ankara.