Commission ready to help Greece with migrant, refugee arrival spike
Europe’s border and coast guard forces are prepared to help Greece manage a recent spike in migrant and refugee arrivals by land and sea, European Commission spokesperson Natasha Bertaud said on Friday.
Bertaud confirmed reports of a significant increase in arrivals at the islands of the eastern Aegean and also into Evros at Greece’s northeastern border with Turkey, saying that all relevant European agencies are at Greece’s disposal to help guard the country’s borders.
She added that European Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos has been keeping abreast of developments and is in regular contact with authorities in Turkey as well as in Greece concerning the issue.
Regarding ongoing talks to review the Dublin rules, which stipulate that undocumented migrants caught inside the European Union must be returned to their country of entry (usually Greece, Italy or Spain), Bertaud said the block’s Bulgarian presidency is drafting a proposal that will be submitted to an EU summit in June for discussion.
