Greece is given three months to tighten border controls



The EU is turning up the heat on Greece, giving it three months to fix serious holes in border protection.

In a bid to stem the influx of migrants, Athens is being told to implement 50 recommendations – to tighten frontier checks.

But to many, such a demand seems like mission impossible.

If Athens fails, it could trigger an unprecedented activation of rules, allowing member states to reimpose checks on internal Schengen borders for up to two years.

Sources say it is not intended to isolate Greece, but to ensure that controls elsewhere in Europe – including between Germany and Austria – can remain in place without breaking the law.

EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos has praised Athens and Rome for a “spectacular” increase in how many arrivals they are fingerprinting, but said they were still falling short.

The arrival last year of over 1.1 million migrants, many of them refugees from Syria, has strained the passport-free Schengen zone to breaking point – with numerous member states reimposing temporary border checks.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-01-13

Greece is given 3 months or what? No more refugees will be allowed? What an empty threat. Greece has a lot of coastline to try and tighten up.

Greece is given 3 months or what? No more refugees will be allowed? What an empty threat. Greece has a lot of coastline to try and tighten up.

the "or what" I think is that people from Greece will have to go through boarder checks to travel to the rest of the EU.

an other nail in the coffin of the EU IMO

Greece is given 3 months or what? No more refugees will be allowed? What an empty threat. Greece has a lot of coastline to try and tighten up.

The "or what" is that Greece will be suspended from Schengen.

Merkel issued the invitation.

It has been an unmitigated disaster. So lets blame the Greeks who are currently financially crippled.

Perhaps you should have thought about giving the euro 3.3 Billion to the Greeks. Thinking that Turkey would stop the flow of migrants was gross stupidity at best.

I understand some of the concerns, but suspending Greece from Shengen will not stop the flow of refugees.

The EU had it's chance to dump Greece and it didn't. I am really confused and to what Europe is trying to do. They really seem incapable of dealing with a problem....any problem.

Credo, on 13 Feb 2016 - 08:50, said:

I understand some of the concerns, but suspending Greece from Shengen will not stop the flow of refugees.

The EU had it's chance to dump Greece and it didn't. I am really confused and to what Europe is trying to do. They really seem incapable of dealing with a problem....any problem.

Of course it wont. Schengen does not even apply to the migrants.

When you have an EU parliament and other institutions made up of 28 Nations, disaster was the only outcome when a major problem developed.

I understand some of the concerns, but suspending Greece from Shengen will not stop the flow of refugees.

The EU had it's chance to dump Greece and it didn't. I am really confused and to what Europe is trying to do. They really seem incapable of dealing with a problem....any problem.

I think it was the Eurozone that had a chance to dump Greece, not the EU. Furthermore membership of the Euro, EU and Schengen isn't the same.

E.g. Norway is in Schengen but not the EU. UK is the opposite. Denmark is in the EU and Schengen but not the Euro.

Edited February 13, 201610 yr by pmugghc

Greece is given 3 months or what? No more refugees will be allowed? What an empty threat. Greece has a lot of coastline to try and tighten up.

New age dictatorship called the EU do as I say or else. Sounds familiar.

How Greece can tighten its border without more money?

How Greece can tighten its border without more money?

Bingo!... And what does it mean?

EU borders will contract to exclude Greece.... Because no one is going to pump a bunch of money at Greece to fix this problem.... Unless "they" wish to pay Greece to be a test case.

Turkey is a NATO country. Greeks and other international vessels should be able to

intercept and return migrants to Turkish ports.

The whole idea of the EU was a disaster from the beginning. Germany and france thought that they could create a world that their "euro" could surpass the US dollar and they could be in control with the rest of the EU following their lead,They did not think about 18 or 19 other nations that wanted to retain their own laws and traditions.Their greed and false credo was not thought out very well.They are operating on borrowed time .England can think The Iron Lady in keeping the Pound. The Euro will be a collector's item in the future. Tick,tick,tick

Let see: We'll extend you loans that don't go to the operation of your government or for the benefit of the Greek people, but goes right back to the EU banks leaving you in a more dismal situation than you were before, AND, make sure to close your borders with all the money we've given you and then diverted back to the TBTF EU banks.

I think they should just open up the borders, and line the streets with signs leading to Germany and Brussels. Big Sign: Our Banks Welcome You! Low Interest Migrant Loans. Apply in Brussels.