“Greece, or any other European country, will no longer be a transit country”.
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Eight EU countries – including Germany, Denmark, Austria and Belgium – have re-introduced checks at certain border crossings in response to the crisis.
In return, Brussels is demanding that Ankara crack down on people smuggling and take back all illegal migrants who do not qualify for asylum in the 28-nation EU.
However, JPMorgan Chase noted to clients and said that the direct impact of an imposition of selective border controls, more likely than a complete lockdown, would be “small in business cycle terms”.
After talks in Athens with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Tusk told economic migrants it was pointless to try to reach the European Union, which is struggling because of the migrant crisis to maintain its prized Schengen passport-free travel area.
The border is not entirely shut – a few hundred refugees, all of them Syrian and Iraqi, are allowed to cross on some days at this border post, where a railway line connects the two countries.
But the crossing is 50 miles – much more unsafe than the short voyages from Turkey to Aegean islands like Lesbos, Kos, and Samos, which are the first stepping stones of the odyssey into Europe.
European Council President Donald Tusk on Friday met with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and announced a “possible change in the EU’s policy towards migrants”, APA reports quoting Xinhua.
Turkey has said it is unable to guarantee a sharp reduction in flows, and wants Europe to accept Syrian refugees directly from Turkey to deter migrants from risking a journey to Greece.
Speaking during a press briefing Thursday after a meeting with the French president, Cameron said the money will go toward efforts to move people from the Calais camp to other facilities in France.
Turkey is under growing pressure to consider a major escalation in migrant deportations from Greece, a top European Union official said Thursday, amid preparations for a highly anticipated summit of EU and Turkish leaders next week.
The EU chief was in Athens as part of a regional tour on the migration crisis ahead of a summit on Monday between the EU and Turkey, the gateway for hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees, many from Syria, hoping to start new lives in Europe.
Eight EU countries have temporary, emergency border controls in place now to control the flow of migrants, putting in jeopardy one of Europe’s most prized achievements.
Some of those who were allowed into Macedonia were then sent back by authorities there because of problems with their papers.
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But the EU’s deal with Turkey will face fresh scrutiny on rights grounds after an Istanbul court ordered an anti-Erdogan daily into administration.
