EU's Tusk meets Austrian chancellor over migration

European Council President Donald Tusk has met Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz to discuss migration and upcoming Austrian EU presidency in the second half of 2018.

The focus of the talks on Friday was on migration policy, for which Austria will host an informal EU summit in Salzburg on September 20, the Austrian government said in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.

Tusk has expressed his hope that the next week's EU summit would find a common solution on refugee policy, it said.

"Donald Tusk is working with us to protect the external borders, and we are grateful for that," Kurz said in the statement.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is convening an informal summit on migration in Brussels on Sunday.

The "informal working meeting" will bring together a group of leaders of member states "interested in finding European solutions to the migration and asylum issues", according to a press release of the Commission.

The informal summit is convened days ahead of the formal one slated for June 28-29.

Migration has recently returned to the fore on EU agenda as a war of words broke out between France and Italy over a rescue ship loaded with 629 migrants.

The ship eventually docked in a Spanish port after being turned away by Italy.

--IANS

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