German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Greece did not sufficiently fulfill its obligations so far on the migrant issue, but added that a border fence will not solve the problem.
“To raise a protective fence in Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, which is not even a member of the European Union, without taking into account what emergency situations it would cause to Greece, it would not be simply non-European behavior, but it will not solve our problems,” Merkel said in an interview with the Stuttgarter Zeitung.
Noting that the crucial external borders of the Schengen zone for the flow of refugees are located between Turkey and Greece, the Chancellor stressed Europe’s intention to help Greece improve the situation.
“It is true that Greece has not adequately met its obligations so far, but never said it doesn’t want to participate in the guarding of Europe’s’ external borders. We want to help Greece improve that,” the German chancellor said.
However, Merkel sent a message to Athens and Rome, noting that things are progressing only when pressure is applied, in order “to finally complete the hotspots in Greece and Italy and apply pressure in the direction of addressing the refugee smugglers.”
In a related question, Merkel argued against the possibility of a smaller Schengen area, noting that it would be a setback in the European Union and reiterated that she wants the Schengen as it is, because no country has benefited so much from it as Germany.
Finally, Merkel said that the forthcoming EU Summit will be a mid-term review on “where we are in the implementation of our measures to secure our external borders and in the wider context of our cooperation with Turkey will launch concrete next steps.”
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