ERBIL, Kurdistan Region- European Council president Donald Tusk says that Turkey and Greece and other countries in the region have come under immense pressure from the influx of migrants and that the EU council is considering mass deportation as a solution.
“We agree that the refugee flows still remain far too high,” Tusk said after meeting Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
He added, “To many in Europe, the most promising method seems to be a fast and large-scale mechanism to ship back irregular migrants arriving in Greece. It would effectively break the business model of the smugglers.”
Tusk who concluded a six-nation tour in Turkey said the decision will mostly include illegal economic migrants, not necessarily asylum seekers without giving details of who would be responsible for deporting the migrants whether Greece, EU border agency or organizations like NATO.
Tusk asked economic migrants on Thursday to stop risking their lives and wealth by illegally traveling to European countries.
"Do not believe the smugglers. Do not risk your lives and your money. It is all for nothing," he was quoted by BBC as saying. "Do not come to Europe.”
Recent border restrictions by European and Balkan countries have left tens of thousands of migrants stranded in Greece and many more on the Turkish shores.
Up to 32,000 migrants were stranded in Greece after Austria and the Balkans decided to decrease the number of transiting migrants.
However, Peter Sutherland, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon´s special representative on migration believes the “inevitable consequence” of closed borders throughout the Balkans “is that Greece increasingly becomes a camp for refugees and migrants.
“We agree that the refugee flows still remain far too high,” Tusk said after meeting Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
He added, “To many in Europe, the most promising method seems to be a fast and large-scale mechanism to ship back irregular migrants arriving in Greece. It would effectively break the business model of the smugglers.”
Tusk who concluded a six-nation tour in Turkey said the decision will mostly include illegal economic migrants, not necessarily asylum seekers without giving details of who would be responsible for deporting the migrants whether Greece, EU border agency or organizations like NATO.
Tusk asked economic migrants on Thursday to stop risking their lives and wealth by illegally traveling to European countries.
"Do not believe the smugglers. Do not risk your lives and your money. It is all for nothing," he was quoted by BBC as saying. "Do not come to Europe.”
Recent border restrictions by European and Balkan countries have left tens of thousands of migrants stranded in Greece and many more on the Turkish shores.
Up to 32,000 migrants were stranded in Greece after Austria and the Balkans decided to decrease the number of transiting migrants.
However, Peter Sutherland, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon´s special representative on migration believes the “inevitable consequence” of closed borders throughout the Balkans “is that Greece increasingly becomes a camp for refugees and migrants.
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