26 October 2015•Update: 27 October 2015
BRUSSELS
As winter approaches, migrants crossing the Balkans to reach Europe face the risk of freezing to death, EU heads of government have warned.
At a gathering in Brussels on Sunday, EU leaders agreed to better humanitarian aid to refugees, including providing temporary shelter, food, water and health services.
"Every day counts, otherwise we will soon see families in cold rivers in the Balkans perish miserably," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in Brussels on Sunday.
Up to 100,000 places in refugee reception centers will also be created in neighboring countries, with 50,000 in Greece, a country that has faced the arrival of numerous refugees this year.
EU leaders also agreed to deploy 400 police officers to Slovenia, in which 60,000 refugees have arrived in the last 10 days, within a week to increase its control of its borders.EU border agency Frontex said earlier this month that 710,000 migrants had entered the European Union in the first nine months of the year, with many traveling through Turkey, which is currently hosting more than 2 million Syrian refugees.
EU and Turkey are in the process of negotiating on a refugee action plan, under which the 28-nation-bloc has offered Turkey funding to reduce the flow of migrants coming in to Europe in exchange for easier visa travel rules for Turkish citizens seeking to visit Europe.
