EU leaders
deploy to help Greece seal Turkish border
Three EU
presidents visit border region to assure no repeat of 2015 crisis.
By NEKTARIA
STAMOULI AND DAVID M. HERSZENHORN 3/3/20, 11:12 PM CET Updated 3/3/20, 11:15 PM
CET
KASTANIES,
Greece — It was perhaps the highest-level border protection force imaginable:
three EU presidents and the prime ministers of Greece and Croatia, deployed to
a flashpoint zone where Turkey has threatened to let thousands of migrants
cross into Europe.
Rushing to
show that they would not permit any repeat of the 2015 refugee crisis, the presidents
of the Commission, Council and Parliament joined Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos
Mitsotakis and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, whose country holds
the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, in the border village of
Kastanies on Tuesday.
After
touring the border zone, near the Evros River, where Turkish President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan has threatened to "open the gates," the EU leaders
voiced unwavering solidarity with Greece, pledged to deploy urgent border guard
reinforcements on land and at sea, and to disburse immediately some €350
million in aid.
It was
high-stakes political theater with the urgent purpose of sending a message to
the EU's 440 million citizens that they would prevent a new wave of arrivals at
a time when the Continent is also struggling to calm nerves over the spreading
coronavirus epidemic.
But it was
also a stark reminder — one that the leaders acknowledged — of the bloc's
failure over the past five years to resolve fierce internal differences and
reach agreement on a new system for managing refugees. And it signaled that the
debate would reignite in the coming days with new urgency in Brussels and
capitals across Europe.
Even as the
presidents were visiting Greece, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell,
raced to Ankara where he was due to meet Turkish officials in a bid to ease the
tensions, and convince Turkish authorities to restore order on their side of
the border. Also on Tuesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for the
creation of a "security zone" to protect civilians in the Idlib area
in northern Syria.
But it was
unclear what that might entail, and any decision on concrete steps in northern
Syria was more likely to come from a meeting scheduled for Thursday between
Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In
Kastanies, Mitsotakis sharply accused Erdoğan of trying to use the refugees to
"blackmail" the EU, and the EU leaders — Commission President Ursula
von der Leyen, Council President Charles Michel, and Parliament President David
Sassoli — said they would stand with Athens to seal the border, despite a
warning from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees that it would be
illegal to ignore international conventions that protect asylum seekers.
"It is
important to me to be here today with you and to tell you that the Greek
worries are our worries," von der Leyen said. "I stand here today as
a European at your side."
"Our
first priority is making sure that order is maintained at the Greek external
border, which is also a European border," von der Leyen said. "I am
fully committed to mobilizing all the necessary operational support to the Greek
authorities." She said the EU border protection agency, Frontex, was in
the process of deploying a rapid intervention team, including one offshore
vessel and six coastal patrol boats, and an additional 100 border guards.
In
statements to journalists at a village cultural center, where they took no
questions, the leaders made clear that they did not regard those people
attempting to cross the border at the instigation of the Turkish government to
qualify for international protections under the current circumstances.
Statement
of intent
Turkey's
move to open the border came after more than 30 Turkish soldiers were killed in
Idlib during bombing by the Syrian military, which is backed by Russia. And the
EU leaders accused Erdoğan of violating a 2016 agreement, the so-called
EU-Turkey statement, under which Ankara agreed to seal the border and
participate in a complex refugee management system, in exchange for billions in
financial assistance.
"What
has happened here over the past days is painfully obvious to everyone,"
Mitsotakis said. "Turkey in full breach of the EU-Turkey statement has
systematically encouraged and assisted tens of thousands of refugees and
migrants to illegally enter Greece. It has failed and will continue to fail
should it pursue this strategy."
"This
is no longer a refugee problem," Mitsotakis continued. "This is a
blatant attempt by Turkey to use desperate people to promote its geopolitical
agenda and to divert attention from the horrible situation in Syria. The tens
of thousands of people who tried to enter Greece over the past few days did not
come from Idlib. They had been living safely in Turkey for a long period of
time."
The trip to
the Greek-Turkish border, by charter plane and helicopter, was proposed by
Michel as a way of demonstrating the EU's resolve in managing the situation.
"It is
important in such a situation not to stay in Brussels but to be present on the
ground and to have the best possible understanding about what is happening and
what happened the last days here and in Turkey," Michel said.
"I
would like also to express our support for all that you did with your security
services, with your team, with your government, the last days," Michel
told Mitsotakis. "The Greek borders are the European borders, and what you
are doing is important for Greece, it is crucial as well for the future of the
European Union. And our presence together here in your country today is a very
strong message that we would like to send to the Greek people, to the European
citizens and to the rest of the world — we are together."
Michel
insisted that the EU would continue to respect international law and human
rights. "Of course, it's crucial to act in a proportionate manner and to
show respect for the human dignity and to show respect for the international
law and we trust you, we trust your government," he said, adding:
"It's very important as Europeans to protect our borders and at the same
time to show respect for the international law and for human rights."
Sassoli,
meanwhile, rebuked EU leaders for not accepting a Parliament proposal for
revising EU asylum rules.
“For the
European Parliament, who arrives in Greece, arrives in Europe," he said,
adding: “We need a change."
It’s
impossible to know the precise number of people who have headed to the border,
some on buses from Istanbul, aiming to cross into the EU. But officials from
the International Organization for Migration in Turkey said on Sunday that
approximately 10,000 people, of many nationalities, had arrived and were being
turned back by Greece. While at odds with each other, Athens and Ankara each
have an interest in inflating the numbers.
In recent
days, the border region has been on heightened alert, and evidence of the rise
in tensions was visible along the road where trucks were carrying new sections
of razor fence to replace damaged sections of the existing barrier.
In
Alexandroupolis, the nearest big city, a large ship has anchored in the port to
house the army officers that continue to arrive from all around the country.
And at a guard post right at the border, where the EU leaders met Greek army
officials, a wooden table was covered with materials projected across the border.
“This is
what we accept from the other side," a Greek army officer told the EU
leaders. "Stones, bottles, grenades and iron items.” Mitsotakis also
showed them a tear gas canister, which from the label was clearly made in
Turkey.
Bulgarian
road trip
From
Greece, von der Leyen and Michel continued on to Bulgaria where they made a
similar show of support and where Prime Minister Boyko Borissov personally got
behind the wheel of a Land Rover SUV and drove them on a tour of the border
zone, before accompanying them on a helicopter ride for an aerial view.
"We
understand very well all the huge efforts you made and are making to maintain a
high level of protection of the border, which is important for European
security," Michel said. "And our message is very clear: You can count
on European solidarity. In case of necessity, we will be present. We will be
active and committed to support you."
During
their brief statements, von der Leyen and Michel noted that their visit
coincided with Bulgaria's national day. "I'd like to thank you again for
being here on this national holiday," Borissov said. "It's an honor
that we have the highest representatives of the European Union." He noted
with approval that von der Leyen and Michel had each put on a martenitsa — a traditional
Bulgarian adornment made of red and white yarn that's worn around the wrist.
"We
are certain that if we have an agreement between ourselves, we will be able to
solve the migration crisis in our region," Borissov said.
But truly
solving the crisis will hinge heavily on developments in Syria, largely out of
the EU's control.
And while
EU leaders voiced their support for Greece, U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab
traveled to Ankara to express solidarity with Turkey — a move that highlighted
just how quickly things have changed since Britain formally left the EU at the
start of last month. Raab blamed Russia and the Syrian regime, which he called
"reckless and brutal," for the recent events that sent civilians
fleeing from Idlib toward Turkey.
Michel's
office announced late Tuesday that he would meet Erdoğan in Ankara on Wednesday
afternoon.
In Greece,
von der Leyen expressed concern for the people who were drawn to the border
with unrealistic hopes of crossing into Europe, and she thanked Greece for
protecting Europe's borders using the Greek word for "shield."
"I
also want to express my compassion for the migrants that have been lured by
false promises into this desperate situation," she said.
But she
also said the EU would not bend. "Those who seek to test Europe's unity
will be disappointed," von der Leyen said. "We will hold the line and
our unity will prevail. Now is the time for concerted action, and cool heads,
and acting based on our values. Turkey is not an enemy. And people are not just
a means to reach a goal. We would all do well to remember both in the days to
come. I thank Greece for being our European aspida in these times."
Maïa de La
Baume and Hans von der Burchard contributed reporting.
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