The Heads of State or Government of the EU member states and Turkey will meet in Brussels on Sunday to discuss measures on managing the ongoing migration crisis.

The summit, which was convened by European Council President Donald Tusk, is expected to mark an important step in the relations between the EU and Turkey.

The decision to hold the meeting was taken after a series of high-level talks between the European Commission and Turkey and meetings between Tusk and Turkish President Recep Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

EU leaders discussed the importance of strengthening cooperation with Turkey on the migration crisis at their meetings in October and November.

In the conclusions from its meeting in October, the European Council welcomed a joint action plan with Turkey.

The EU and its member states expressed readiness to increase cooperation with Turkey and step up their political and financial engagement considerably.

The meeting will be chaired by Tusk, with the European Commission and the European Parliament represented by their respective presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, while Davutoglu will represent Turkey.

Among the topics expected to be discussed are the implementation of the joint action plan on migration, visa liberalisation, readmission agreements and the EU accession process.