Greece on Monday lashed out at what it called “lies” by its EU partners following calls for Athens to be suspended from the Schengen passport-free zone if it fails to staunch the flow of migrants into Europe.
At a tense meeting of EU ministers of the interior in Amsterdam, Austria and Germany urged Greece — the European gateway for thousands of migrants each day — to do more to tackle the continent’s worst migration crisis since World War II.
However, Greek Minister of Immigration Policy Yiannis Mouzalas insisted his country — already buffeted by a debt crisis that almost drove it out of the euro last year — is doing its best in difficult circumstances.
“We are tired to listen that we cannot secure our borders,” Mouzalas told reporters in Amsterdam. “We are told that we don’t want coastguards, it’s a lie — we want more coastguards.”
The short sea crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands accounted for most of the 1 million migrants and refugees who arrived in Europe last year, but Mouzalas said it would be illegal under international law to push them back.
Ewa Moncure, spokeswoman for EU border agency Frontex, also stressed the illegality of turning asylum seekers away from Greek waters.
“Under international law, every person who crosses a European border can claim asylum,” Moncure told reporters.
She said Greece’s geography, with its scattered islands and long coasts, made it practically impossible to stop the arrival of flimsy boats carrying people fleeing conflict and misery in the Middle East and elsewhere.
However, the rest of the EU is turning up the pressure on Athens.
Last week Austrian Minister of the Interior Johanna Mikl-Leitner warned that Athens could face “temporary exclusion” from Schengen, the 26-country zone of mainly EU countries that embodies the European dream of free movement.
However, in Brussels, European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud on Monday said that there was no plan to suspend Greece.
“We have never discussed either a suspension or exclusion. The possibility does not exist,” she said.
Austria, Germany and several other Schengen member states have already reintroduced temporary checks at their internal borders, raising fears the passport-free system could collapse.
During a press conference after Monday’s talks, Dutch Secretary of State for Security and Justice Klaas Dijkhoff suggested the border checks could go beyond the current limit of six months because of the exceptional pressure.
“Member states invited the commission to prepare the legal and practical basis for the continuance of temporary border measures,” he said.
Austria and Germany urged Greece to tighten its external EU borders.
“Greece has to reinforce its [border] resources and accept help,” Mikl-Leitner told reporters in Amsterdam, adding it was a “myth” that the Turkish sea border could not be secured.
German Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maiziere — whose country’s decision last year to open its doors to 1 million asylum seekers sparked anger in transit countries — urged Greece to “do its duty.”
“We want to save Schengen, we want common European solutions, but the clock is ticking,” De Maiziere said, adding that a deal with Turkey to staunch the influx is the key to solving the crisis.
Signed last year, the deal involves Brussels paying Ankara 3 billion euros (US$3.2 billion) in aid for Syrian refugees and speeding up its EU membership process, in return for Turkey tackling people smugglers and improving conditions for refugees.
The payment has been held up by concerns that Turkey is not complying, but EU High Representative of Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini said during a visit to Ankara on Monday that she was confident Turkey would get the money “in reasonable time.”
Brussels is also exploring other ways to stem the flow of migrants, particularly through the Western Balkans.
The European Commission confirmed that it had sent a mission to non-EU Macedonia to discuss how it could help staunch the large numbers passing over the border from Greece.
It said European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had replied to a letter from Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar, who last week called for Macedonia to effectively seal off its border with Greece and staunch the flow through the Balkans.
Dijkhoff said the member states asked the commission to “explore the possibilities” for Frontex to “provide assistance at the border.”
Australia has announced an agreement with the tiny Pacific nation Nauru enabling it to send hundreds of immigrants to the barren island. The deal affects more than 220 immigrants in Australia, including some convicted of serious crimes. Australian Minister of Home Affairs Tony Burke signed the memorandum of understanding on a visit to Nauru, the government said in a statement on Friday. “It contains undertakings for the proper treatment and long-term residence of people who have no legal right to stay in Australia, to be received in Nauru,” it said. “Australia will provide funding to underpin this arrangement and support Nauru’s long-term economic
‘NEO-NAZIS’: A minister described the rally as ‘spreading hate’ and ‘dividing our communities,’ adding that it had been organized and promoted by far-right groups Thousands of Australians joined anti-immigration rallies across the country yesterday that the center-left government condemned, saying they sought to spread hate and were linked to neo-Nazis. “March for Australia” rallies against immigration were held in Sydney, and other state capitals and regional centers, according to the group’s Web site. “Mass migration has torn at the bonds that held our communities together,” the Web site said. The group posted on X on Saturday that the rallies aimed to do “what the mainstream politicians never have the courage to do: demand an end to mass immigration.” The group also said it was concerned about culture,
ANGER: Unrest worsened after a taxi driver was killed by a police vehicle on Thursday, as protesters set alight government buildings across the nation Protests worsened overnight across major cities of Indonesia, far beyond the capital, Jakarta, as demonstrators defied Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s call for calm. The most serious unrest was seen in the eastern city of Makassar, while protests also unfolded in Bandung, Surabaya, Solo and Yogyakarta. By yesterday morning, crowds had dispersed in Jakarta. Troops patrolled the streets with tactical vehicles and helped civilians clear trash, although smoke was still rising in various protest sites. Three people died and five were injured in Makassar when protesters set fire to the regional parliament building during a plenary session on Friday evening, according to
STILL AFLOAT: Satellite images show that a Chinese ship damaged in a collision earlier this month was under repair on Hainan, but Beijing has not commented on the incident Australia, Canada and the Philippines on Wednesday deployed three warships and aircraft for drills against simulated aerial threats off a disputed South China Sea shoal where Chinese forces have used risky maneuvers to try to drive away Manila’s aircraft and ships. The Philippine military said the naval drills east of Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) were concluded safely, and it did not mention any encounter with China’s coast guard, navy or suspected militia ships, which have been closely guarding the uninhabited fishing atoll off northwestern Philippines for years. Chinese officials did not immediately issue any comment on the naval drills, but they
RSS