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PM calls for European cooperation as refugee pressure piles up in Greece

Xinhua, February 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

Unilateral actions do not help in the resolution of the refugee crisis, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday during a meeting here with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi.

"Unilateral and uncoordinated actions do not contribute to the handling of an international problem. Solution can be reached only through the closer cooperation at European and international level," said Tsipras, according to an e-mailed press release from his office.

During Grandi's first visit to Greece after assuming office earlier this year, the UNHCR head seeks to further support Greece to assist incoming refugees, as well as NATO's upcoming operation in the Aegean Sea in an international attempt to stem the refugee influx, according to the press release.

Wednesday's meeting was held as Greece was under increasing pressure this week with thousands refugees remaining stranded in the country, after several neighboring Balkan countries and central European states have introduced additional restrictions in cross-border movements.

Athens has filed formal complaints with Austria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in protest of such "unilateral moves" despite decisions taken at a recent EU summit for collective response to the challenge.

For his part, Grandi urged other European countries to provide further support to Greece.

"The resettlement program agreed between the European Union countries has not progressed. We have repeatedly stressed to member states and other countries of Europe that they will have to participate in these resettlement programs to welcome refugees legally and not leave them at the mercy of traffickers," he told Greek national news agency AMNA after visiting hot spots on Lesvos islands and refugee accommodation centers in Athens.

UNHCR and humanitarian organizations such as the Doctors Without Borders have expressed "great concern" over the build-up along borders and additional hardships for refugees and asylum seekers.

"UNHCR is concerned by recent restrictive practices adopted in a number of European countries that are placing additional undue hardships on refugees and asylum seekers across Europe, creating chaos at several border points, and putting particular pressure on Greece as it struggles to deal with larger numbers of people in need of accommodation and services," an UNHCR press statement read.

"Such measures risk violating EU law and undermine efforts for a comprehensive and coordinated approach to deal with the refugee and migrant crisis in Europe," the announcement added.

Approximately 3,500 refugees were queuing near the Idomeni border crossing between Greece and FYROM on Wednesday, according to the latest update from Greek police, after Skopje barred Afghan nationals from entering the country since the weekend.

Hundreds of refugees were transferred to overcrowded temporary reception camps in the nearby city of Thessaloniki and Athens on Tuesday, local authorities said, while thousands of refugees reaching Piraeus port every day from the Greek islands hope to continue their journey to northern Europe.

Meanwhile, 40 buses carrying refugees from Athens were lined on the national highway connecting the Greek capital with northern Greece since early Wednesday due to the build-up at Idomeni, Greek police announced, adding about 500 refugees started from the outskirts of the city of Lamia in central Greece continue their trip on foot. The distance from Lamia to Idomeni is about 260 kilometers.

"The situation is not sustainable and will become worse in coming days. Greece today can accommodate in humane conditions 3,700 people in centers on the mainland. If people will not be allowed to cross the borders in the following hours, Greece's reception system will reach its limits within a week," Marie Elisabeth Ingres, head of the Doctors Without Borders mission in Greece warned on Wednesday.

The humanitarian organization stressed in a press release that "restrictions in movement result chaos and humanitarian crises, exposing refugees to the risk of violence and exploitation at the hands of traffickers." Enditem