EU officials express support for Greece, confidence in its migration handling

Mitsotakis was joined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic whose country holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.

The EU officials who visited Greece's borders confirmed the necessity of respecting international law and human rights, and expressed their confidence in the steps the Greek government took to manage the crisis at the Greek-Turkish borders. They also confirmed their support and solidarity with Greece, during their statements at the Cultural Center of Kastanies in Evros prefecture.

Charles Michel: We live, act and are together and together we must protect our borders

Greece's borders are European borders, European Council President Charles Michel stressed in Evros on Tuesday, stressing that it was very important in such situations for European officials "not to stay in Brussels but to be in the field, so that they have the best possible understanding".
In joint statements with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the leaders of other European institutions from Kastanies in Evros, he praised Greece's role in the protection of the borders because, as he said, "what you are doing is of crucial importance for the EU".
He expressed EU's complete solidarity, noting that "we are with you".
Michel expressed his faith in the Greek government "for the additional reason that, even though you are doing very important work, we applaud that you are operating in accordance with European law."
He added that on a European level, "we will continue to guarantee the agreement with Turkey and expect Turkey to comply with this agreement".
Michel also noted the support for the UN's effort to achieve a peaceful solution in Syria, adding that "we live, act and are together and together we must protect our borders".

Ursula von der Leyen: 'Greek concerns are also our concerns'

Greece's concerns "are also our concerns," and the Greek borders are also European borders, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated during a press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the heads of other EU institutions in Kastanies, Evros on Tuesday.
"We declare our European solidarity with Greece" she said.
"The situation at our [EU] borders is not an issue Greece must handle alone, it is the responsibility of Europe as a whole and we will handle the problem with order, unity, solidarity and determination," the European Commission president added.

European Parliament President Sassoli underlines need for long-term strategy on migration

President of the European Parliament David Sassoli on Tuesday said it is very important that European officials and the Greek government came to Evros together, and underlined the need for a unified, European long-term strategy on migration, following his visit at the Greek-Turkish border to inspect migration flows from Turkey.
He expressed his concern that several EU membres may not realize how urgent the need is to reform migration policy. "If a year and a half ago we had heard the European Parliament and had proceeded to reform the Dublin II treaty, we would probably not be facing these conditions today," he explained.
"It is Europe that has to implement a migration policy, to share the burden of migration, to redistribute it equally," he pointed out, and continued to say that this "has to be unified policy, otherwise it cannot guarantee established values and rights."
He stressed that the joint presence of European officials at the Evros border is "a call to Europe to address decisively the possibility of drawing up a common immigration policy."
The Europarliament president also stressed that Turkey needs to hear that "we want to negotiate, to discuss things, but it must respect agreements," and raised the issue of unaccompanied children as a critical one that needs to be addressed as well.

Croatian PM Plenkovic at Evros: 'We support the Greek government's efforts, which we have seen with our own eyes'

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Tuesday joined European officials on a visit to the Greek-Turkish border at Evros region to inspect migration flows from Turkey, and said "we have come to express our support and solidarity with the Greek government and our determination to help Greece find a European response to this new migration situation."
Plenkovic represented Croatia, which currently holds the presidency of the Council of the EU.
"Our intention is to prevent 2015-2016 from happening again," he said, referring to the start of the great migration crisis. "I have said many times that no other phenomenon has affected Europe's political landscape and its member states as much as the migration crisis has over the last 4-5 years," he added.
In conclusion, Plenkovic said that "we support the efforts of the Greek government, which we have seen with our own eyes."