Commission
gives Greece two weeks to fix its borders
Brussels
also warns about missed targets on relocation of refugees.
By JACOPO BARIGAZZI
4/12/16, 4:24 PM CET Updated 4/13/16, 6:15 AM CET
The European
Commission told Greece Tuesday it has two weeks to do a better job of
protecting its external borders or else Brussels may have to extend
additional internal controls across Europe.
In its report on
efforts to restore the functioning of the passport-free Schengen
area, the Commission said “significant progress has been made,”
but warned that on several key actions Athens needed to improve its
implementation of measures.
Among the concerns
cited were Greece’s “lack of detailed timeframes given for the
completion of actions” and a “lack of information about the
authorities responsible for implementing the recommendations.”
The Commission
requests that Greece provide the additional elements and
clarifications by April 26.
In March, the
Commission presented a “Back to Schengen” roadmap that set out
measures to address deficiencies in the management of the EU’s
external borders. By making those fixes, the plan aims for the
lifting of some temporary internal border controls that countries
have imposed to stop migratory flows.
But under the plan,
if the migratory pressures and deficiencies in external border
controls continue beyond May 12, the Commission would need to propose
allowing controls to be prolonged at certain internal borders for up
to two years, for those countries like Austria and Germany that have
already reintroduced them.
The Commission also
warned that the EU was missing its goals on the relocation of 160,000
refugees under two controversial schemes. In March, the EU set a
target to relocate at least 6,000 persons in a month. But the
Commission said in its progress report that “this target has not
been met.”
Only 208 additional
persons have been relocated during the reporting period, bringing the
total number of relocated applicants from Greece and Italy to 1,145.
“We cannot be
satisfied with the results achieved so far,” said Dimitris
Avramopoulos, the European commissioner for migration. “Relocation
efforts have to be increased dramatically to reply to the urgent
humanitarian situation in Greece and to prevent any deterioration of
the situation in Italy.”
Authors:
Jacopo Barigazzi
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