Mayors on three Aegean islands protest new EU migrant pact
Three mayors on the Aegean islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos called on the European Union on Thursday to amend the proposal for the new migration pact, saying “it unduly burdens frontline countries, damages their national interests and creates gray zones in the eastern borders of the EU.”
“It is widely acknowledged that no single EU country can effectively handle migration and asylum by itself, but this requires a joint and decisive policy, based on the principles of solidarity and the fair distribution of responsibilities among countries, with an emphasis on guarding Europe’s external borders and averting migration flows,” the mayors of Mytilini Stratis Kitelis, Chios Stamatis Karmandzis and East Samos Giorgos Standzos said.
According to the local officials, the proposal being discussed “undermines the current European institutional framework in terms of solidarity, protecting our borders and in the role of NGOs.”
They also called on the government in Athens to vote it down.
Residents of their islands will “remain on alert until the full revocation of all regulations of the new proposal that harm our lives,” they warned. [ANA-MPA]
