Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Berlin: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday the build-up of migrants and refugees at Greece's northern border showed Europe needed to find a common solution to the crisis at an EU summit next week and reinstate the Schengen free travel zone.
"The pictures show us clearly every day that there is a need for talks," Merkel told reporters after meeting Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic in Berlin, adding she was in regular contact with Greece's prime minister.
"We need to deal with the difficult situation in Greece and...
return to the Schengen system as soon as possible."
Migrants have become stranded in Greece after Austria and countries along the Balkans migration route imposed restrictions on their borders, limiting the numbers able to cross.
Many of the migrants hope to reach Germany.
Macedonian police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of migrants who stormed the border from Greece on Monday, tearing down a metal gate.
Merkel opposes the border restrictions and she, and senior EU officials, have said the suspension of the Schengen passport-free travel zone, one of the pillars of European Union integration, could lead to its collapse.
The restrictions imposed by Austria and other countries have also angered Greece, where an estimated 22,000 migrants and refugees were trapped on Monday and a minister warned the figure could reach 70,000 in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday, Merkel rejected suggestions that the situation on Greece's northern border was similar to that in Budapest last year when Hungary closed the main train station in the capital leaving thousands of migrants stranded.
The stand-off ended after the German government intervened to allow about 25,000 migrants to board trains to Austria and Germany.
Asked if she would repeat that if migrants on the Greek-Macedonian border asked for help, Merkel said: "There is actually no right that a refugee can say 'I want to receive asylum in this specific EU state'."
She said the situation was not comparable given that systems to process refugees, who are fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and elsewhere, had been set up in Greece, the first EU country they arrive into, mainly on boats from Turkey.
Merkel said the EU should help Greece deal with the influx.
Financial experts in Merkel's ruling coalition urged all EU states to agree a financial aid package for Greece, whose public finances were strained even before the migrant crisis.
Meanwhile, Austria wants to deter Afghans from seeking asylum there by funding a campaign of advertisements on Kabul buses, on Facebook and on television telling them not to expect a warm welcome.
"The federal government has an upper limit of 37,500 (asylum requests this year).In order to get to this number it is necessary to reduce the influx of refugees," Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner said.
"It's only a question of fairness to tell people in their home countries about the strict asylum laws in Austria."
In large red capital letters, Austria tells Afghans in its adverts: "No asylum in Austria" for economic reasons, adding that Vienna sets time limits for asylum, is increasing its deportations and has strict conditions for family reunification.
Drawing on its experience in curbing migrant numbers from Kosovo last year with a local media campaign, Austria will pay for huge posters to be put up in Afghanistan's five biggest cities as well as for adverts on more than 1,000 Afghan websites and in daily newspapers, the Interior Ministry said.
The Alpine republic of 8.5 million people received 90,000 asylum requests last year, around a quarter of them submitted by Afghans, a trend which is continuing this year.
Austria is not the first country to plan such a campaign to reduce immigration.
Australia launched a similar initiative warning "You will not make Australia home", and an anti-immigration party in Sweden said last year it would launch an campaign in foreign media to discourage asylum-seekers.
Additionally, Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Oreskovic said Zagreb might deploy its armed forces to help police control migrant flows in response to the refugee crisis.
"If it becomes necessary to use the army, we will activate that option.
It would be an assistance in easing procedure," Oreskovic told a news conference in Berlin after meeting German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Neighbouring Slovenia approved such a move last month after amending existing laws.
Croatia would have to follow a similar process to do likewise.
Oreskovic said Croatia favoured a European Union-wide solution to the migrant crisis.
