Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that the management of the refugee and migration flows should not be considered a problem just for the first reception countries or a problem of the Balkan route countries, but be considered a problem collectively with solidarity and fair allocation of burdens. He made these remarks in his address at the EU Summit held in Vienna on Saturday.
The Greek premier called on the countries that have objections and believe that the refugees should be sent back to the sea “to state it openly to the European bodies and to Frontex” According to government sources, Tsipras noted that “Greece comes to the Summit to table its own positions as a country that bears a very heavy burden on the management of the refugees and migration crisis”.
Tsipras underlined that “the countries of the Balkan route have made some unilateral actions” adding that “must be dealt with with respect to the international law”.
He referred to the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement underlining that it is of huge importance and pointed out that it is necessary for Turkey to intensify its actions to decrease the flow of refugees. Europe, said the Greek prime minister, must speed up the procedures on the visa; Turkey in parallel must follow the road map, and Europe must offer the financial support to Turkey for the management of the refugees’ issue. Part of the EU-Turkey agreement allows for Turkish citizens to travel throughout Europe visa free, if Turkey meets certain requirements.
The relocation process must be accelerated, a procedure that is carried out at a very slow rate, only 4,000 of 66,000 migrants and refugees have been resettled.
Moreover, Tsirpas said that “Greece’s borders are also EU borders…we follow the European rules on the border protection issue…if there are countries that believe that the refugees should be sent back to the water, those countries should state it openly and clearly to the European bodies and to Frontex”.
The Greek prime minister asked for support on the asylum requests underlining that the Asylum Service in Greece was founded three years ago and today it has to deal with a huge number of applications.
He said that the European Asylum Support Office has committed to send 400 experts to the Greek islands and only 19 have arrived.
Finally, Tsipras said that a European Readmission Mechanism between the European Union and the countries of origin must be established for the readmission of those not entitled asylum. “It is unacceptable for the burden to fall on the first reception countries” he said.
(source: ana-mpa)
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