Greece's Porous Border Draws Europe's Ire
Passport-Free Schengen Accord Is Tested as Illegal Immigrants Gain Access to Continent by Crossing Greek-Turkish Boundary
BRUSSELS—Greece,
at the center of Europe's two-year-old debt crisis, is facing
intensifying criticism from other European governments over the way it
polices its land border with Turkey—presenting Europe's passport-free
Schengen area with what could be its most serious test since it began
functioning in 1995.
A majority of
the illegal immigrants—most from the Middle East, Pakistan and
Afghanistan—enter into the European Union through Greece, whose
northern, mountainous region of Evros is the bloc's most porous external
border.
Associated Press
Syrians walk near the northeastern Greek town of Orestiada after passing over the Greek-Turkish border early Monday.
Most
don't stay in Greece with its weak economy but try to travel to other
countries within the EU. Under Schengen rules, once in Greece, travelers
shouldn't need to show a passport to enter any of the other 25 states
in the Schengen area.
Greece has
been frequently criticized by the European Commission, the United
Nations and nongovernment groups for not complying with international
law on asylum policy and for mistreating people reaching its borders
seeking protection for political, humanitarian or other grounds.
A
group of seven EU countries including France and Germany said last week
that further action was needed to reduce the inflows of migrants "in
particular at the Greek-Turkish border." They suggested, among other
things, a stronger presence for the EU border-management agency,
Frontex.
With thousands of
immigrants detected crossing that border every month, European officials
say Greece's cash-strapped government doesn't have the money, personnel
or administrative capacity to police the border.
Now,
three governments are considering taking further action—effectively
suspending Greece from Schengen by reintroducing passport controls for
travelers arriving from the country. According to two people familiar
with EU-level talks on the subject, Germany, Finland and Austria are
considering this step.
A spokesman
for the Austrian government confirmed this, but said he couldn't predict
whether unilateral passport controls would be introduced.
Last week, Austrian Home Affairs Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner described the Greek-Turkish border "as open as a barn door."
A
spokesman for the German government denied that Germany was proposing
this. But the German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said last
week: "The question still remains what happens when a country is not
capable of securing its borders, as we see in Greece…Is it possible to
reinstate border controls? I want to clarify that this is still part of
our discussion."
The pressure on
Greece comes as French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to remove
his country from Schengen in a year because member states whose borders
are the external barriers of the 26-nation area aren't doing a good job
keeping illegal immigrants at bay. While Mr. Sarkozy's threat has been
largely interpreted as an attempt to lure right-wing voters, his has
been the highest-profile expression of discontent among a growing
chorus.
Travelers from Greece also
report there are frequent passport checks being carried out as they
arrive at German airports. A senior Greek government official and an
airline executive confirmed German border authorities conduct frequent
ad hoc passport checks on passengers from Greece as soon as they step
off the plane. The airline executive said the checks mostly happen at
Munich and Frankfurt airports.
Asked
to comment, Aegean Airlines, the Greek carrier that services those
routes, said it hadn't received any complaints or comments to that
effect from their passengers.
The
German spokesman said authorities at German airports checked Schengen
travelers' passports in individual cases where they had received
specific information about arriving passengers and that such checks
weren't at a scale that could be construed as a threat to Schengen
freedom of movement.
The
European Commission, the EU's executive arm, is pushing to have
Schengen decisions made through votes among all countries affected,
rather than have national governments reintroducing border controls at
will.
A proposal by the European
commissioner in charge of immigration, Cecilia Malstroem, in
September—following the temporary re-imposition of passport checks at
France's border with Italy last year to curb an influx of North African
immigrants—suggested that countries could, under exceptional
circumstances, waive passport-free travel for five days.
However, any extension would have to be agreed through a vote among the countries.
Commission
officials have, however, expressed concern about Greece. In a
confidential report last week, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, a
team of experts who visited the Evros border painted a bleak picture of
conditions there and called on the Greek authorities to act.
"The
humanitarian situation in the Evros region…remains the most serious
issue of concern," the report says and adds that a new Greek asylum
service has managed to recruit only 11 people out of the 700 planned.
—Nicole Lundeen in Vienna contributed to this article.Corrections & Amplifications An earlier version of this article misidentified Hans-Peter Friedrich's title. Mr. Friedrich is Germany's interior minister.
U.S Says Greek-Turkish Border Porous
By on
May 31, 2013 in News
2
0 103
Α U.S. State Department report expressed concern about the Greek border with Turkey, and terrorist attacks in Greece.
There
has been concern about the Greek border with Turkey, since the Greek
authorities are making efforts to control illegal immigration, but the
operation is difficult and chances of success are limited. It is noted
that the recent uprisings in the Arab world and North Africa contributed
to the increase of the flow of illegal immigrants to Greece.
The
report emphasized that relevant U.S. agencies trained members of the
Hellenic Coast Guard in Athens, Piraeus, Crete, Patras and Thessaloniki,
and the participation of the Greek government in this cooperation is
described as “broad and inclusive”.
In the part related to Greece,
there are recorded low power attacks with improvised explosive devices
from anarchist organizations, whose ultimate goal seems to be not to
cause casualties, but to convey political messages.
The annual
State Department report which strongly noted the cooperation between
Greek Authorities and the U.S.A in the field of counter-terrorism and
protection of American interests in Greece, reported that many members
of the two most active domestic terrorist organizations, the
“Revolutionary Struggle “and” Conspiracy of Cells of Fire ‘ have been in
prison since 2011, while stating that both in Athens and Thessaloniki
there were explosions aimed at politician’s assets, party offices,
ministries, tax offices and private vehicles .
- See more at: http://usa.greekreporter.com/2013/05/31/u-s-says-greek-turkish-border-porous/#sthash.q1g8HbJa.dpuf
U.S Says Greek-Turkish Border Porous
By on
May 31, 2013 in News
2
0 103
Α U.S. State Department report expressed concern about the Greek border with Turkey, and terrorist attacks in Greece.
There
has been concern about the Greek border with Turkey, since the Greek
authorities are making efforts to control illegal immigration, but the
operation is difficult and chances of success are limited. It is noted
that the recent uprisings in the Arab world and North Africa contributed
to the increase of the flow of illegal immigrants to Greece.
The
report emphasized that relevant U.S. agencies trained members of the
Hellenic Coast Guard in Athens, Piraeus, Crete, Patras and Thessaloniki,
and the participation of the Greek government in this cooperation is
described as “broad and inclusive”.
In the part related to Greece,
there are recorded low power attacks with improvised explosive devices
from anarchist organizations, whose ultimate goal seems to be not to
cause casualties, but to convey political messages.
The annual
State Department report which strongly noted the cooperation between
Greek Authorities and the U.S.A in the field of counter-terrorism and
protection of American interests in Greece, reported that many members
of the two most active domestic terrorist organizations, the
“Revolutionary Struggle “and” Conspiracy of Cells of Fire ‘ have been in
prison since 2011, while stating that both in Athens and Thessaloniki
there were explosions aimed at politician’s assets, party offices,
ministries, tax offices and private vehicles .
- See more at: http://usa.greekreporter.com/2013/05/31/u-s-says-greek-turkish-border-porous/#sthash.q1g8HbJa.dpuf
U.S Says Greek-Turkish Border Porous
By on
May 31, 2013 in News
2
0 103
Α U.S. State Department report expressed concern about the Greek border with Turkey, and terrorist attacks in Greece.
There
has been concern about the Greek border with Turkey, since the Greek
authorities are making efforts to control illegal immigration, but the
operation is difficult and chances of success are limited. It is noted
that the recent uprisings in the Arab world and North Africa contributed
to the increase of the flow of illegal immigrants to Greece.
The
report emphasized that relevant U.S. agencies trained members of the
Hellenic Coast Guard in Athens, Piraeus, Crete, Patras and Thessaloniki,
and the participation of the Greek government in this cooperation is
described as “broad and inclusive”.
In the part related to Greece,
there are recorded low power attacks with improvised explosive devices
from anarchist organizations, whose ultimate goal seems to be not to
cause casualties, but to convey political messages.
The annual
State Department report which strongly noted the cooperation between
Greek Authorities and the U.S.A in the field of counter-terrorism and
protection of American interests in Greece, reported that many members
of the two most active domestic terrorist organizations, the
“Revolutionary Struggle “and” Conspiracy of Cells of Fire ‘ have been in
prison since 2011, while stating that both in Athens and Thessaloniki
there were explosions aimed at politician’s assets, party offices,
ministries, tax offices and private vehicles .
- See more at: http://usa.greekreporter.com/2013/05/31/u-s-says-greek-turkish-border-porous/#sthash.q1g8HbJa.dpuf
U.S Says Greek-Turkish Border Porous
By on
May 31, 2013 in News
2
0 103
Α U.S. State Department report expressed concern about the Greek border with Turkey, and terrorist attacks in Greece.
There
has been concern about the Greek border with Turkey, since the Greek
authorities are making efforts to control illegal immigration, but the
operation is difficult and chances of success are limited. It is noted
that the recent uprisings in the Arab world and North Africa contributed
to the increase of the flow of illegal immigrants to Greece.
The
report emphasized that relevant U.S. agencies trained members of the
Hellenic Coast Guard in Athens, Piraeus, Crete, Patras and Thessaloniki,
and the participation of the Greek government in this cooperation is
described as “broad and inclusive”.
In the part related to Greece,
there are recorded low power attacks with improvised explosive devices
from anarchist organizations, whose ultimate goal seems to be not to
cause casualties, but to convey political messages.
The annual
State Department report which strongly noted the cooperation between
Greek Authorities and the U.S.A in the field of counter-terrorism and
protection of American interests in Greece, reported that many members
of the two most active domestic terrorist organizations, the
“Revolutionary Struggle “and” Conspiracy of Cells of Fire ‘ have been in
prison since 2011, while stating that both in Athens and Thessaloniki
there were explosions aimed at politician’s assets, party offices,
ministries, tax offices and private vehicles .
- See more at: http://usa.greekreporter.com/2013/05/31/u-s-says-greek-turkish-border-porous/#sthash.q1g8HbJa.dpuf
