Spotlight: EU adopts migrant deal with Turkey, uncertainty remains

European Union (EU) leaders agreed on a migrant deal with Turkey late Thursday at their spring summit, but they are not sure whether Ankara would buy it.

Leaders of the 28 countries spent the day haggling over the proposal, under which Turkey would take back all migrants from Greece to help curb Europe's worst migration crisis since World War II.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel wrote on his Twitter account late Thursday that the EU members reached agreement on a common stance, and European Council President Donald Tusk would present it to Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday morning for his endorsement.

Tusk, the summit chairman, would begin to negotiate with Davutoglu on Friday morning before a lunch meeting with EU leaders, officials said.

If Davutoglu rejects the proposal, the EU leaders will gather again to reconsider their position.

According to some EU leaders, the coming negotiations with Turkey would be difficult and complicated.

"Tomorrow's negotiations with Turkey will not be very easy," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday, although she noted that it was a good opportunity to tackle the refugee crisis, which has seen an unprecedented influx of more than 1 million people from the war-stricken Syria and other Middle East countries since last year.

Greece, a front-line country of the crisis, was upset by the EU's inefficiency on migrant relocation, as EU leaders agreed to relocate 160,000 refugees last year but so far only some 900 have settled down.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel warned that Turkey should not expect a free ride. "An agreement cannot be a blank check," he said after the first day of the summit, adding that a deal with Turkey might be possible but there were still uncertainties.

On the other side, Davutoglu said before he left Ankara for Brussels that the proposed deal was "clear and honest," and that he would not take a deal to turn Turkey into "an open prison for migrants."

Unable to deal with the invasion of a large number of migrants, EU countries are trying to seek Turkey's help and convince the country to bring back all migrants that have traveled to Greece from Turkey. In return, the 28-nation bloc will make financial and political concessions.

According to new proposals Ankara presented to Brussels on March 7, EU countries should offer up to 6 billion euros (about 6.6 billion U.S. dollars) in aid, the easing of visa restrictions for Turkish citizens and quicker Turkish accession to the EU.

However, some European leaders worry that the Ankara-proposed refugee swap deal, under which the EU would take in one Syrian refugee from Turkish soil in exchange for every Syrian taken back by Turkey from Greece, would be illegal.

Some experts and human rights groups also believe that the "one-for-one" plan might violate international law.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said the plan was difficult to implement and "is on the edge of international law.

But some people believe that this plan might be the only way to stop the inflow of refugees by land and sea, especially as the weather turns warmer.

Thousands of migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean on their way to Greece or Italy. More than 45,000 people are stranded in Greece after Macedonia shut its border. Endi