EU Must ‘Manage’ Greek-Turkish Border With Its Own Emergency Force
SputnikNews.com
30.01.2016
The European Union should create a new agency that would strengthen the Greek-Turkish border and provide better care for refugees currently staying in Turkey, said Guy Verhofstadt, a Member of the European Parliament and a former Belgian Prime Minister, according to the Belgian weekly Le Vif.
The EU should take immediate steps to tackle the ongoing refugee crisis, Verhofstadt said. Based on the EU treaty, member states can establish a European Refugee Rapid Emergency Force (ERREF) without changing existing rules which would avoid wasting precious time.
Since Greece cannot effectively monitor its borders, the European Commission proposed to set up EU-sponsored units of coast and border guards to control the Greek-Turkish border.
The decision should be made as soon as possible — during an EU Council meeting on February 18, the Belgian politician argued.
“Europe is in state of emergency and this requires emergency measures. Let’s not wait another three months to get a grip on the border between Turkey and Greece; Europe has to manage it now with an emergency force of 2000 border guards,” Verhofstadt said, according to the website Diplomatic Intelligence.
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