Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is making efforts to prevent the closing of the border with Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as Eastern European states demand as a measure to stem migrant inflow.
Eastern European leaders reportedly are set to help FYROM to seal its border with Greece. On Monday, the leaders of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia ,the Czech Republic – the so-called Visegard Four – will meet with FYROM and Bulgaria state leaders to discuss measures for the protection of the European Union’s external borders.
The four countries propose the shutting down of FYROM-Greece borders in order to stop migrants entering northern Europe through the Balkan route. This would mean that tens of thousand of migrants would end up stranded in Greece.
The Greek prime minister is to have important meetings in Brussels between Wednesday and Friday during the extraordinary European Union on the refugee issue.
Tsipras plans to have informal meetings with top European leaders such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Greece’s state leader is expected to ask for support so that the border with FYROM remains open.
In Brussels there will also be a mini-summit, similar to the one held on December 17, chaired by the German chancellor. The leaders of Austria, Greece, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands will meet with the Prime Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu and the EC president.
According to sources within the Greek government, the prime minister is counting on the mini-summit to support Greece’s position, especially after the decision that NATO ships will participate in guarding Greece’s sea borders with Turkey to prevent the illegal smuggling of migrants from the neighboring country.
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