Commission ready to help Greece with migrant arrival spike, if requested

The European Commission stands ready to support Greece operationally through its agencies, such as the European Asylum Office (EASO), Europol and the European border and coast guard, if the country submits a relevant request, EU Commission spokesperson Natasha Bertaud said on Monday.

"We stand ready to discuss additional emergency measures that have already been announced by the Greek authorities and are starting now to be put in place," she was quoted as saying by state-run news agency ANA-MPA.

"We've noted with concern the large number of arrivals reported in Lesvos over the past weeks, which is undoubtedly putting additional pressure on a system that is already under great strain, but we did underline that the arrivals over the summer remain just a fraction of what they were in the months preceding the EU-Turkey Statement; there is still a decrease of 91 pct compared to that period,” she added.

Asked about a possible change in Turkey's stance on the refugee and migration issue, Bertaud repeated that European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos is in continuous contact with both the Greek and Turkish sides and is working with Greece to improve conditions on the Greek islands.

[ΑNA-MPA]