“No time can be lost in deploying all means possible to prevent humanitarian suffering within our own borders”, Mr Stylianides said in a statement. German Chancellor Angela Merkel attempted to persuade migrants to stay in Greece, saying, “There are accommodation possibilities in Greece, they should be used by the refugees”. “This is where we have the most serious humanitarian crisis”, Stylianides told a press conference in Brussels.
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About 9,000 refugees seeking asylum, including these at the Idomeni…
More than 25,000 refugees are estimated to be at the Idomeni refugee camp near the Macedonian border, and more than 10,000 are waiting to cross the frontier.
The border closure was greeted with anger as hundreds tried to break through the fence but were blocked by Macedonian police who fired tear gas at them, prompting an angry response from the EU.
Over the past few days, aid groups have reported a shortage of food and tents, warning that the wet weather was taking a toll on the refugees, many of whom have children.
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“These cases illustrate the risks of allowing people to enter without screening, which is not the case with USA refugee resettlement”, he said.
About two dozen migrants protesting the demolition of a sprawling camp in northern France are occupying shanty rooftops, and are surrounded by police.
European states have tightened border controls following the arrival of more than a million migrants by sea previous year and the Athens government has appealed for help to house and care for tens of thousands still arriving and now stranded in Greece.
“Europe is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis”, UN Refugee agency (UNHCR) spokesman Adrian Edwards said on Tuesday.
The EU plan for an internal aid mechanism marks a departure for the 28-nation EU, which normally only gives aid to countries outside the bloc, notably in the Middle East and Africa.
Werner Faymann insists his country must control its borders to stop the “unorganized chaos” he says has characterized the EU’s approach to dealing with the migrant crisis.
Migrants wait behind portable barriers to have errors in their transit documents corrected by Greek authorities at a camp in Idomeni, on the Greek-Macedonian border on Wednesday, March 2, 2016.
“I’m afraid that sometimes you need tougher measures if you, we want really to apply Schengen”.
Skopje’s latest move to allow a handful of migrants continue their way towards Germany, Sweden and other richer EU nations comes as European Council President Donald Tusk called for the restoration of the Schengen passport-free travel zone.
He will meet Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu later Thursday (March 3) in Ankara, where he will urge Turkey to offer more “intensive” help in reducing the flow of migrants to Europe.
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The U.N. refugee agency is praising Greece’s effort to take in refugees while scolding some of its European neighbors for suddenly slamming shut their borders and not keeping their promises – causing a “looming humanitarian crisis” on the continent.
