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EU Refugee Summit: Six Things We Learned From Divisive Meeting

Refugee Crisis Divides EU Leaders, Rights Groups Question Their Understanding Of Problem
Kathryn Snowdon
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Emergency refugee talks in Brussels on Wednesday saw heads of states locked in talks for more than five hours.

Following warnings from European Council president Donald Tusk that the continent will experience the "greatest tide" of refugees, leaders were split as to what solutions should be offered.

Divides in the council, most notably between the Hungarian and German leaders, led to controversy as to how the ensuing crisis should be dealt with.

In the headlines on Thursday was the millions of pounds which was pledged to help international refugee agencies, but what else came out of the EU summit?

Here is a breakdown of the 6 key things:

Six Things We Learned' From The EU Refugee Summit
Millions to be donated to international refugee agencies(01 of06)
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Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, told countries to “put their money where your mouth is”. Leaders pledged hundreds of millions for the transit countries and the international aid agencies, and up to £730million for Turkey. David Cameron agreed to spend a further £100million supporting refugees in camps bordering Syria. He said £40million of the additional cash would go to support the World Food Programme, The Guardian reports. (credit:Jupiterimages via Getty Images)
Donald Tusk warns of refugee 'tide' on its way to Europe(02 of06)
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Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, who chaired the summit, warned: “The greatest tide of refugees and migrants is yet to come.” Tusk announced proposals for more than one billion euros to be mobilised to ease the crisis. He said extra financial help would be given to countries neighbouring Syria such as Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. He said that leaders "agreed that the current chaos at our external borders must end", adding: "The measures we have agreed today will not end the crisis but they are all necessary steps in the right direction." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Leaders 'dodged' their responsibilities(03 of06)
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Human rights campaigners were unhappy with the results of the summit. Judith Sunderland, associate director at Human Rights Watch, said: "We’re back to square one. Everyone is dodging responsibilities and emphasising borders over basic humanity." She added: "EU summit ends with EU leaders giving impression they have no idea the refugee crisis is in Europe, right now." Some felt that leaders came up with a solution that amounted to little more than throwing money at aid agencies and neighbouring Syrian countries which are currently hosting millions of Syrian refugees. (credit:IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU via Getty Images)
Tusk attacks Merkel for 'inviting' refugees to Europe(04 of06)
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Donald Tusk made a veiled attack on German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who has agreed to take in 800,000 refugees and said that Germany would not turn away any Syrian asylum seekers. Tusk said: "Today we are talking about millions of potential refugees trying to reach Europe, not thousands," adding: "It is likely that more refugees will flow towards Europe, not less. Especially as almost all of them feel invited to Europe." The president of the European Commission added: “We need to correct our policy of open doors and windows.” Merkel later responded: "Faced with a great challenge, it cannot be that Europe says we can't handle his. That's why I say again and again: we can do this." (credit:ALAIN JOCARD via Getty Images)
David Cameron opts out of emergency refugee resettlement plan(05 of06)
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David Cameron said that Britain will not participate in the EU's emergency plan to relocate refugees across the continent. While the British government has already agreed to take 20,000 refugees from Syrian camps over the next five years, Cameron refused to take part in a common EU redistribution scheme. Instead, the Prime Minister urged leaders to adopt a "comprehensive approach", calling for more to be done in countries that have seen thousands leave in a bid to prevent refugees entering Europe. He said: "We need to do more to stabilise the countries and regions from which these people are coming." (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Hungary warns it is running out of options(06 of06)
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The Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, who is one of the EU's most robust anti-immigration hardliners, warned German chancellor, Angela Merkel, to avoid "moral imperialism". He said that Greece could not secure its border with Turkey, which left him with only two options: to keep the barbed wire fences on the borders with Serbia and Croatia or to send any refugees who enter Hungary straight through to Austria. Earlier this week interior ministers agreed a controversial plan to relocate 120,000 refugees currently in Italy, Greece and Hungary among the member states. The scheme sparked a row, with Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic voting against the proposals, with Finland abstaining. (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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