Greece backs idea of regional conference on immigration

Greece backs Serbia’s idea of holding a regional conference on immigration among Southeastern European countries, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias (photo) said during a visit to Belgrade on Thursday, where he met with his counterpart Ivica Dacic.

Kotzias also said that Greece and its neighbors had to do more to pressure other European countries to take steps to address the immigration issues, including implementing the proposals recently put forward by European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos.

“If the EU leaves migration policy as it is today in the Balkans, Europe’s societies will become more xenophobic and lean toward the extreme right,” said Kotzias.

“We are waiting for Europe’s North Atlantic countries to accept that they will be obliged to take a portion of the refugees – rather than raising dividing lines – and contribute to the major social project of changing living conditions in countries that are the source of migration.”