Tsipras: Greece rejects proposal for 'refugee ghetto'

In statements to the press following the meeting, Tsipras said that the three proposals included the creation of the equivalent of a city, with 50,000 refugees, within Greece; the option of an EU country to bar entry to refugees from another EU country, which would have created a domino effect stressing Greece; and a new operation by EU border police Frontex in northern Greece to check migratory flows towards the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

In explaining the rejection of each of the proposals, the PM said that in the first case, the summit accepted Greece's counter-proposal of receiving help with rent subsidies for 20,000 refugees for as long as they remain in Greece. This would contribute to the growth of the Greek economy, he said, while it would allow refugees to become integrated socially in Greece.

The second rejected proposal was replaced with notifying the country of passage of the number of refugees it is responsible for.

The third proposal related to the guarding of borders, which is exclusively the responsibility of a nation; the only contribution Frontex could provide, he said, would be to register or identify those refugees who had not been processed at points of entry on the Greek islands. He estimated that these cases would be very few, since most refugees on islands request registration.

Tsipras also spoke of the understanding by all present of the leading role Turkey plays in terms of refugee flows, noting that collaboration with the neighbouring country would help reduce these flows.

The summit leaders understood Greece's position, he underlined, starting by the fact that refugee flows cannot be checked midway, but at their beginning. Greek and Turkish port authorities and coast guards should work closely together, although each country is responsible for guarding its own territorial waters. The European Commission will present specific proposals to Turkey soon, he revealed, which creates the hope for a decisive resolution of refugee flows.

There is no question that the European Commission moved at a slow pace in terms of the refugee crisis, he added, but it did move towards the right direction. The refugee issue is something beyond us and must be managed in a coordinated manner by Europe, otherwise the unity of the EU itself will be threatened. Common sense, solidarity, distribution of responsibility for refugees and co-responsibility must prevail, he said.

Plan to create ghetto averted, gov't sources say

In a statement issued in Athens, government sources said "a plan to create a ghetto/camp for 50,000 refugees in Attica was averted," adding that the decision for rent subsidies of 20,000 refugees would boost the refugees' dignity and prevent burdening local government financially, while helping local economy. The rest of the plans will continue as is, they said, with hotspots on the island registering migrants and additional facilities for temporarily housing 10,000 people in Attica prefecture and another 10,000 in northern Greece.

They also hailed the recognition of Turkey's major role in refugee flows to Europe and noted the need to implement the plan to control refugee flows on its own territory.

EU leaders satisfied with Greek initiative

In Brussels, leaders of European countries who attended the summit expressed their satisfaction with Greece's intention to increase the number of accommodation by 30,000 by the end of the year. In a joint statement, they said that the EU would provide funding to both Greece and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to help them with the resettlement process. Frontex would help Greece with registration, they said, while calling for an upgrade to the joint operational system Poseidon to include Frontex at the Aegean Sea. The leaders also promoted the immediate creation of bilateral confidence-building measures between Greece and FYROM, where the UN Refugee Commision should also help with more staff, while they called on Greece, FYROM and Albania to strengthen their management of external land borders.

Three proposals that included the creation of a ghetto for 50,000 refugees in Attica were rejected, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said early on Monday, following the conclusion in Brussels of a mini-Summit of European leaders on migration.

In statements to the press following the meeting, Tsipras said that the three proposals included the creation of the equivalent of a city, with 50,000 refugees, within Greece; the option of an EU country to bar entry to refugees from another EU country, which would have created a domino effect stressing Greece; and a new operation by EU border police Frontex in northern Greece to check migratory flows towards the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

In explaining the rejection of each of the proposals, the PM said that in the first case, the summit accepted Greece's counter-proposal of receiving help with rent subsidies for 20,000 refugees for as long as they remain in Greece. This would contribute to the growth of the Greek economy, he said, while it would allow refugees to become integrated socially in Greece.

The second rejected proposal was replaced with notifying the country of passage of the number of refugees it is responsible for.

The third proposal related to the guarding of borders, which is exclusively the responsibility of a nation; the only contribution Frontex could provide, he said, would be to register or identify those refugees who had not been processed at points of entry on the Greek islands. He estimated that these cases would be very few, since most refugees on islands request registration.

Tsipras also spoke of the understanding by all present of the leading role Turkey plays in terms of refugee flows, noting that collaboration with the neighbouring country would help reduce these flows.

The summit leaders understood Greece's position, he underlined, starting by the fact that refugee flows cannot be checked midway, but at their beginning. Greek and Turkish port authorities and coast guards should work closely together, although each country is responsible for guarding its own territorial waters. The European Commission will present specific proposals to Turkey soon, he revealed, which creates the hope for a decisive resolution of refugee flows.

There is no question that the European Commission moved at a slow pace in terms of the refugee crisis, he added, but it did move towards the right direction. The refugee issue is something beyond us and must be managed in a coordinated manner by Europe, otherwise the unity of the EU itself will be threatened. Common sense, solidarity, distribution of responsibility for refugees and co-responsibility must prevail, he said.

Plan to create ghetto averted, gov't sources say

In a statement issued in Athens, government sources said "a plan to create a ghetto/camp for 50,000 refugees in Attica was averted," adding that the decision for rent subsidies of 20,000 refugees would boost the refugees' dignity and prevent burdening local government financially, while helping local economy. The rest of the plans will continue as is, they said, with hotspots on the island registering migrants and additional facilities for temporarily housing 10,000 people in Attica prefecture and another 10,000 in northern Greece.

They also hailed the recognition of Turkey's major role in refugee flows to Europe and noted the need to implement the plan to control refugee flows on its own territory.

EU leaders satisfied with Greek initiative

In Brussels, leaders of European countries who attended the summit expressed their satisfaction with Greece's intention to increase the number of accommodation by 30,000 by the end of the year. In a joint statement, they said that the EU would provide funding to both Greece and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees to help them with the resettlement process. Frontex would help Greece with registration, they said, while calling for an upgrade to the joint operational system Poseidon to include Frontex at the Aegean Sea. The leaders also promoted the immediate creation of bilateral confidence-building measures between Greece and FYROM, where the UN Refugee Commision should also help with more staff, while they called on Greece, FYROM and Albania to strengthen their management of external land borders.