Six-Point Plan To Deal With EU Migrant Crisis

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has put forward a six-point plan to EU heads of state to help resolve the migrant crisis.

It comes as the leaders of France and Germany agreed that people fleeing the war in Syria should stay as close as possible to their home country.

Under the UNHCR proposals, centres would be set up in each EU nation to register and distribute refugees under an agreed system.

The organisation also called for more support for the "humanitarian emergency" in Greece, where some 30,000 refugees are stuck with nowhere to go.

EU states should also make more safe, legal ways for refugees to travel to Europe and should protect those at risk, including unaccompanied and separated children, the agency said.

However, French President Francois Hollande has said migrants clamouring to enter Europe through Turkey and Greece were best dealt with close to their country of origin.

He also said the EU should make shoring up the Schengen agreement on open borders between some of its members a priority.

This was despite the pressures put on the agreement, which allows free passage between member states, by the growing migrant problem.

"In the end, our objective is to put Schengen back in order," he said at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris.

Mr Hollande said this would happen "through co-ordination, solidarity and reinforcement of our mutual resources".

Ms Merkel told reporters that President Vladimir Putin had reiterated Russia's support for the ceasefire in Syria during a conference call with herself, Mr Hollande and David Cameron.

"I would like to stress one more time that the commitment to hold the ceasefire was confirmed as a key message by the Russian president (with) only attacks on Daesh and al Nusra Front," she said.

She was referring to the fact that the "cessation of hostilities" in Syria excludes groups such as Islamic State and al Qaeda's al Nusra Front.

The aim of the conference call was to strengthen the fragile truce, which came into effect last weekend, so that peace talks can go ahead in Geneva next week.

The date has already been pushed back by the UN from 7 to 9 March to allow the ceasefire "to better settle down", amid reports of violations on all sides.