Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has visited Malta to attend the Valletta Summit, which will focus on EU action for migration.
The Greek government reiterated that refugee and migrant flows are caused by poverty in the countries of origin and regional crises, and any effort to deal with the problem must focus on these causes.
“The issue is primarily humanitarian and as such must be dealt with at an international level,” highlighted Mr Tsipras.
“Refugee and migrant flows concern the EU as a whole and not just first reception countries, such as Greece. A comprehensive policy must be found to tackle trafficking rings.”
The Greek PM will visit Ankara next week, with the intention of playing a central role in the EU’s negotiations with Turkey on managing the flow of refugees.
He will present the European Union’s agenda to Turkey and note the country’s arguments and requests prior to the imminent EU-Turkey meeting.
“Greece wants to transfer the process of refugee identification and resettlement in Turkey to stop the daily risk and drama of lives lost in the Aegean,” the prime minister said.
“It will also propose providing help to Turkey to guard its borders.”
Turkey, on the other end, demands a relaxation of visa requirements for its citizens, an acceleration of EU accession talks, funding for the handling of refugee flows and the start of a series of EU-Turkey meetings.
Ankara is requesting financial assistance totalling €3 billion, but the fund, which will be announced during the Valletta Summit, will initially total just €1.81 billion.
Meanwhile, the summit decided on an action plan to tackle exploitation and migrant smuggling, recognising that “immigration constitutes a shared responsibility of the countries of origin, transit and destination”.

Source: AMNA