By Helen Maguire

Brussels (dpa) - Turkey is demanding an additional 3 billion euros (3.3 billion dollars) from the European Union by 2018 to help it tackle migration flows, European Parliament President Martin Schulz said Monday on the sidelines of an EU-Turkey summit.

In October, the bloc already offered 3 billion euros to help improve the living conditions of Syrian refugees living in Turkey in return for efforts to prevent them from continuing their journey towards Europe.

The continent has struggled with an influx of migrants and asylum seekers that brought more than 1 million people to its shores last year, with some 135,000 more following since the start of 2016.

Most travelled via Turkey to Greece, in the hope of ultimately reaching wealthy northern European countries.

Ahead of the summit, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called for "solidarity," noting that Turkey and the EU needed one another.

"We have to see the whole picture - not just irregular migration, but [that] the whole future of our continent is on the table," he said.