EU leaders were meeting yesterday to back closing down the Balkans route used by most refugees and migrants to reach Europe, diplomats said, after at least 25 more people drowned trying to cross the Aegean Sea en route to Greece.
The declaration drafted on Sunday by EU ambassadors was to be announced at yesterday’s summit in Brussels, set to also be attended by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
The bloc’s 28 leaders will ask Davutoglu’s government to accept “large-scale” deportations of economic migrants from Greece, the main entry point to Europe, and do more to implement the deal reached in November last year to slow the flow of people into the bloc.
Photo: EPA
Greece has seen Macedonia and EU countries on the western Balkans route virtually shut their borders in a domino effect, trapping Syrian and other asylum seekers desperate to head north to wealthy Germany and Scandinavia.
An EU diplomat told journalists that European leaders were going to declare that they are going to “close the Balkans route in the coming days,” ending the “wave-through approach” to migrants that has caused chaos and tension in Europe.
Another diplomat confirmed that the language contained in an earlier draft declaration remained: “Irregular flows of migrants along the western Balkans route are coming to an end,” but said that delegations were still looking at the draft.
Brussels on Friday unveiled a plan to restore by the end of the year the full functioning of Europe’s cherished passport-free Schengen zone after the series of border closures. It was timed with calls for not only better cooperation from Turkey, but also the creation of an EU coastguard force by the summer and help for Greece to strengthen its external border.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Sunday demanded the “urgent” relocation of thousands of refugees to other member states.
The bloc adopted a scheme in September last year to relocate 160,000 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy, but fewer than 700 people have actually been moved.
European Council President Donald Tusk, the summit host, said in his invitation letter that success depended largely on securing Turkey’s agreement for the “large-scale” readmission from Greece of economic migrants who do not qualify as refugees.
Syrians, who top the influx of people into Europe, are considered genuine refugees requiring admission under international law.
Davutoglu told reporters at Istanbul airport before leaving for Brussels that Turkey had taken “important steps” to fulfil its part of the stalled November deal.
He said there had been a drop in numbers, but “not a dramatic decline” because of the ongoing civil war in Syria.
Despite progress, the EU said too many people were still heading from Turkey to Greece, with nearly 2,000 arriving daily last month.
The Financial Times on Sunday reported that Brussels had drafted a proposal to centralize the system for processing asylum applications, removing the current rule that requires asylum seekers to lodge their claim in the first EU country they arrive in. The proposal is part of a radical overhaul of its refugee policy to be announced at a summit on Thursday next week.
At least 25 migrants, including 10 children, died after their wooden boat capsized trying to reach Greece on Sunday, the Turkish coastguard said.
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