Greek govt critical of EU pressures: Belgium asks for camps of 300-400,000 refugees in Athens

Alternate Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas on Monday criticized pressures on Greece concerning the refugee crisis, adding that Greece’s exclusion from the Schengen Zone would not solve any problems. He instructed the European Commission to explore a procedure to extend temporary internal border checks within the Schengen area for up to two years.

Speaking on private SKAI TV he said that the Belgian side had put forth the creation of a camp for 300,000-400,000 refugees in Athens.

“Schengen is part of a game for assigning responsibility: if you don’t do this or that, we will do this to you. It is a punishment,” said Mouzalas, adding that Greece did not wish to take part in a process that would lead to nowhere. Mouzalas represented Greece at the informal meeting, along with Alternate Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas.

The Council also urged the European Commission to examine the possibility that the EU border agency Frontex provide assistance in guarding the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and to examine the existing legal framework with “flexibility” and “pragmatism”.

Mouzalas told reporters that Greece was aware of where delays had occured and noted that other countries are “in a panic” rushing to close their borders. He admitted that there were indeed delays in setting up hotspots on the Greek islands and added that these would be ready by early March. He said that the European crisis in Greece would be converted to a humanitarian crisis if thousands of refugees were to be trapped. He said that the situation required “more Europe” but isolated actions meant less Europe.

Commenting on accusations that Greece was not doing enough to protect its borders with Turkey, the minister noted that Greece was acting in accordance with international law and the law on the sea, as well as European and Greek law.

On his pat, Toskas also pointed to the extreme slowness of the readmission process, noting that the activation of the relevant agreement with Turkey after many years had led to the return of 80 migrants to Turkey in three months, while the results for Morocco and Pakistan were currently nil.