Greece in particular has been facing the brunt of this crisis. The task of managing the number of people arriving is gigantic, particularly across a maritime border. No one country can be expected to manage these numbers on its own, and can certainly not be called to engage in illegally pushing refugees back.
Today, the risk of seeing a true humanitarian crisis inside the EU has become very real. But it is not inevitable, if we act as Europeans. I have said it before and I repeat it again today: the idea that the solution to this crisis is to exclude a country from Schengen and try to trap the refugees in a corner of Europe is not only immoral, it is also deeply anti-European. Solidarity is not an a-la-carte menu from which we can pick and choose.
We reject firmly any discussion about the possibility of excluding any country from Schengen. Instead, the solution has to come through cooperation, coordination, and responsibility. The Greek government, like all governments must comply with all the Schengen responsibilities, but also fulfil their obligation and relocate refugees in a fair manner. The countries affected must be supported, also financially. In parallel, we will make every effort to ensure that the upcoming EU-Turkey summit will lead to the immediate and full implementation of our agreements.”
