This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/25/greece-wont-be-lebanon-of-europe-yannis-mouzalas-refugees-eu
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Greece 'won't be Lebanon of Europe', says migration minister | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Greece has said it will not be left by the rest of the EU to become the “Lebanon of Europe” by hosting millions of migrants and refugees. | |
| Speaking before a crucial meeting in Brussels on Thursday, the Greek migration minister, Yannis Mouzalas, criticised other countries for “unilateral” actions that affect Greece. | |
| Greece, which faces growing pressure to stop refugees leaving it for the rest of Europe, has criticised the response of EU members. | |
| The numerous splits in Europe over immigration policy were evident on Wednesday when Austria organised a meeting of interior and foreign ministers of several Balkan states in Vienna. The Austrians snubbed the Germans and did not invite the Greeks, provoking a furious reaction from Athens. | |
| Related: 'We will not give up now': hope and despair as refugees gather in Athens | Related: 'We will not give up now': hope and despair as refugees gather in Athens |
| “A very large number here will attempt to discuss how to address a humanitarian crisis in Greece that they themselves intend to create,” Mouzalas told reporters. “Greece will not accept unilateral actions. Greece can also carry out unilateral actions. Greece will not accept becoming Europe’s Lebanon, a warehouse of souls, even if this were to be done with major [EU] funding.” | “A very large number here will attempt to discuss how to address a humanitarian crisis in Greece that they themselves intend to create,” Mouzalas told reporters. “Greece will not accept unilateral actions. Greece can also carry out unilateral actions. Greece will not accept becoming Europe’s Lebanon, a warehouse of souls, even if this were to be done with major [EU] funding.” |
| The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, pressed last week for a special summit on 7 March with Turkey, in an attempt to revive a faltering pact with Ankara that pays the Turks to stem the flow of refugees to Greece. | The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, pressed last week for a special summit on 7 March with Turkey, in an attempt to revive a faltering pact with Ankara that pays the Turks to stem the flow of refugees to Greece. |
| EU members opposed to German-backed refugee quotas and the Turkey pact instead want to quarantine Greece and seal the country’s northern border with Macedonia, effectively shifting the border-free Schengen zone’s external frontier from the Aegean to central Europe. Eastern Europe, Austria and Slovenia want to help Macedonia close the Greek border. | EU members opposed to German-backed refugee quotas and the Turkey pact instead want to quarantine Greece and seal the country’s northern border with Macedonia, effectively shifting the border-free Schengen zone’s external frontier from the Aegean to central Europe. Eastern Europe, Austria and Slovenia want to help Macedonia close the Greek border. |
| Hungary has meanwhile called an anti-immigration referendum aimed at stopping Brussels and Berlin forcing it to take in refugees under any EU quota schemes. | Hungary has meanwhile called an anti-immigration referendum aimed at stopping Brussels and Berlin forcing it to take in refugees under any EU quota schemes. |
| Four million refugees have fled Syria for the relative safety of neighbouring countries, according to the UN with more than 1 million in Lebanon. Greece is the main entry point for refugees to the EU, with most of them crossing the Aegean Sea to Turkey via the Greek islands. | |
| At least 102,500 people have arrived on the Greek islands of Samos, Kos and Lesbos this year, according to figures this week from the International Organisation for Migration. A further 7,500 have reached Italy, and, in the first six weeks of 2016, 411 people died attempting to make the journey. | |
| In 2015 the threshold of 100,000 arrivals was not reached until the end of June. As spring approaches and the weather improves, the rate of arrivals this year is expected to climb further. | In 2015 the threshold of 100,000 arrivals was not reached until the end of June. As spring approaches and the weather improves, the rate of arrivals this year is expected to climb further. |
| The IOM said 20% of the arrivals were from Afghanistan and nearly half were Syrians. | The IOM said 20% of the arrivals were from Afghanistan and nearly half were Syrians. |
| Already divided over what to do about mass immigration, the EU faces further fragmentation as governments rush to impose national border controls from central Europe down to the Balkans, leaving Greece as the entry and end point for many migrants entering the EU from Turkey. | Already divided over what to do about mass immigration, the EU faces further fragmentation as governments rush to impose national border controls from central Europe down to the Balkans, leaving Greece as the entry and end point for many migrants entering the EU from Turkey. |
| After Austria’s decision last week to allow in no more than 80 asylum seekers daily, Slovenia is following suit and sending troops to its frontier with Croatia, while Belgium announced new border controls with France this week. |