He called once again on European Union leaders to stop finger-pointing and stand by their pledges to help refugees.
Advertisement
“Member states are moving slowly at a time when they should be running”, Juncker said, adding that “the gap between pledges by member states and what is on the table must be reduced”.
Donald Tusk told the European Parliament the challenge was the biggest the EU had faced for a decade.
Juncker said that the agreement calls for an end to the transfer by train or bus of thousands of refugees on the journey from one border to another, without the consent of the neighboring country, as happened in Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia or even Slovenia.
“This challenge has the potential to… cause tectonic changes in the European political landscape”, he said.
Only two days before, Juncker and Tusk had taken part in a mini-summit with leaders of countries along the Western Balkans migration route.
More than 600,000 people have entered Europe by land and sea this year seeking sanctuary or jobs, overwhelming border authorities and reception facilities.
Croatia’s police said yesterday that more than 13,000 migrants had arrived from Serbia in the past 24 hours.
The latest figures from the UNHCR – showing that more than 700,000 people have reached Europe via the Mediterranean this year – mark a staggering increase on last year, our correspondent says.
Referring to the 17-point plan of action on the Western Balkans route, he said that there was also a consensus about a clear distinction between refugees and migrants, noting that “there are people in need of protection – those that are considered refugees”.
The Commission announced Tuesday that at least the contact points had been set up, and noted that Croatia had asked for the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to provide material support such as winter tents, beds and blankets.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, so often the target for building border fences that diverted the flow of refugees to other nations, simply said “Hungary is not on the route anymore, so we are just observers here”.
But the country that many say is another key source of the flow – Turkey – was not invited and a few leaders said little could be done without its involvement.
Save the Children said in a statement Thursday that more than 70 children, including seven on Wednesday night, have drowned in the attempt to reach Greece since Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy of Kurdish ethnic background whose image made global headlines, was found dead on a beach. Discussion on the proposal during Sunday’s meeting was tense, as leaders pushed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to do more to control his country’s borders.
Advertisement
Temperatures are dropping across but the number of refugees pouring over borders to seek asylum remains steady. Over 710,000 migrants arrived in the European Union within the first nine months of 2015, according to the EU border agency Frontex. While numerous migrants are traveling with infants, “some are reluctant to pause for humanitarian aid that they actually need”, she said. But Athens says it needs about €480 million, according to a Greek official.
