A European plan to ferry refugees arrived on the Greek islands back to Turkey has been presented by the Netherlands, currently holding the European Union presidency, the leader of the ruling Social Democrats Diederik Samsom told the De Volkskrant daily on Wednesday. The plan was currently being worked out with several European Union member states, including Germany.According to the plan, EU member states would pledge to take up to 250,000 refugees a year. Turkey would agree to take back the remainder of the refugees, the Dutch politician said.The first ferries could be running from March or April, Samsom added. The Dutch government is hoping for a significant reduction in the number of asylum seekers, and working in close collaboration with a core group of EU member states. "Recently, an express highway has been created between Greece and Turkey, and we have to put a halt to this," Samson told Dutch radio. Samson and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte have held intensive discussions with Germany, Sweden and Austria, he said.The countries were hoping that France, Spain and Portugal would join the initiative, and for Britain to be prepared to take in refugees, he added.More than 850,000 people arrived in Greece in 2015 after making a perilous journey across the Mediterranean. The European Commission has harshly criticized Athens, saying it had "seriously neglected" its duty to protect the EU bloc's frontiers.