Defence Minister: Migrants are a European issue

“The war waves in the Middle East will lead to waves of thousands of migrants; however this issue is not a Greek one,” he said and noted: “Saying I will close the entry points is one thing and seeing a sea full of children is quite another. EU needs to accept that these are refugees who cannot stay on the islands and for health reasons.”

He said that facilities should be created but not on the islands, as this will bring more migrants. “Instead of giving funds to Frontex so that it can go around, they should give them to set up facilities, but not on the islands as this would give the opportunity to traffickers to bring more people,” he noted and added that “penalties for traffickers should become stricter.”

He also said that his statement, that if Greece does not stabilize then migrants would reach Berlin, was misinterpreted as this was not a threat but a reality due to the increasing migrant inflow.