The leaders of the European Commission, Parliament and Council visited Greece on Tuesday (3 March) and sent a strong message to Ankara, saying Europe will not bow to the migration pressure at its external borders. #eudebates #migrants #Turkey #Syria #migrationflows #Migrants #refugees #Asylum #Greece #IStandWithGreece #Greece_under_attack #IllegalMigrants “Those who seek to test Europe’s unity will be disappointed. We will hold the line and our unity will prevail,” Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to the Greek-Turkish border.
In light of the escalating migration crisis with Turkey, von der Leyen was visiting the Evros border in north-east Greece, accompanied by Council President Charles Michel and European Parliament chief David Sassoli.
"This is no longer a refugee problem. This is a blatant attempt by Turkey to use desperate people to promote its geopolitical agenda and to divert attention from the horrible situation in Syria," he told journalists at a joint press conference with European Council President Charles Michel, European Commisson head Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament head David Sassoli, with whom he toured the Greek-Turkish border earlier in the day.
Mitsotakis said the people who tried to enter Greece in the past few days did not come from the war-torn Syrian province of Idlib, but had been living safely in Turkey for a long period of time.
"Europe will not be blackmailed by Turkey over the refugee issue. We stand ready to support Turkey in dealing with its refugee problem and find a solution to the Syria conundrum but not under these circumstances. My duty is to protect the sovereignty of my country," he said.
"Unfortunately, Turkey has turned into an official migrant trafficker," he continued in comments made in Greek, citing official statements by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and videos on social media showing Turkish officials offering free rides to the Greek border.
Mitsotakis reiterated that Greece will protect its border, which is also the external border of the European Union, adding that Athens expects "tangible solidarity" from the European Union.
"But let's be honest. The EU has not been up to the task of dealing with the migration crisis. I hope this crisis will serve as a wake up call for everyone," he said, noting he hoped the current crisis would serve as a wake up call for Europe to assume its responsibilities.
The situation at the Greek-Turkish land border worsened dramatically on 29 February following Ankara’s official decision to let thousands of migrants try to enter EU territory.
Since then, Athens has launched a diplomatic offensive to tackle Turkey’s pressure at the border, but it has also reinforced border guards and is doing its utmost to prevent illegal crossings.
A crucial extraordinary EU foreign affairs council is scheduled for 6 March while Frontex, the EU’s border agency, has already launched a rapid border intervention at Greece’s external borders and asked EU member states for assistance.
All leaders vowed to provide Greece with all necessary means to deal with the crisis.
“We can provide financial support of €700 million to Greece, with €350 million available directly and an additional €350 million which can be requested under an amending budget,” von der Leyen added.
An asymmetric threat
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has been quite aggressive against Ankara, saying that Turkey has now become an “official migrant smuggler”.
The conservative leaders added that it is no longer a refugee-migration problem but an “asymmetric threat” to Greece’s eastern border, which is also Europe’s frontier.
“It is my obligation to safeguard the integrity of my country and that is what I will do. My concern is the security of Greece and Europe,” Mitsotakis said.
The Turkish interior ministry said on Monday that 117,677 refugees have crossed into Greece, but the actual number is much smaller.
In the fact check “Is this a refugee crisis?”, EURACTIV’s Georgi Gotev explained that the total number of migrants gathered in the border areas is estimated at some 20,000.
On the other hand, the Greek authorities said on Monday that fewer than 200 migrants have managed to cross the border and that all of them have already been sentenced by Greece to four years of jail for illegal crossing.
The pressure on the Greek border dropped significantly on Tuesday, with Greek media suggesting that the Turkish government had moved refugees and migrants away from the borders ahead of the EU leaders’ visit.
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