EU Council president Donald Tusk on Thursday assured Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that the European Union will not abandon Greece, one of the main entry-points to Europe for refugees and urged economic migrants to not risk their lives by attempting to cross over into Europe
The Greek Prime Minister argued that “Greece will not leave anyone helpless and create centers for temporary hospitality” but underlined that “we will not allow Greece to become a warehouse of souls” during the joint press conference of the two men.
PM Tsipras stressed that Greece has undertaken more than its share of the burden and was scornful of the “ostentatious refusal of many EU member-states to participate in the relocation process”. The Greek Premier called for an expedition of the process and for sanctions against those not respecting the European Convention. The Greek PM noted that the “unacceptable” unilateral actions, such as closing borders and excluding countries from discussions on the crisis, must stop.
European solidarity
Mr. Tusk responded that the flow of migration from Turkey to Greece must be reduced immediately to address the refugee crisis and stated that a possible exclusion of Greece from the Schengen area will not solve any problems.
He added that however understandable unilateral actions may be, they harm the spirit of European solidarity and will not result in any solution to crisis. The European Council President also urged economic migrants to not waste their money and risk their lives by attempting to cross over into Europe. He added that “Greece or any other European country will no longer be a transit country” and concluded that Europe will not leave Greece on its own.
Tusk who is to leave immediately for Turkey also said that EU-Turkey joint action plan remains a priority that must be successful.
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