Schengen to be Safeguarded, Migrant Influx to be Limited

The part of the EuroSummit statement which focuses on the migrant issue was released on Friday noon. The Summit has now moved to the second issue of the agenda, the UK.

The 28 participants of the summit welcome the decision of NATO to aid in the patrol, control and reconnaissance of the illegal routes in the Aegean. At the same time, they state that FRONTEX will have to collaborate closely with the alliance.

The conclusion states that the main priority remains the implementation of the action plan as this has been agreed between the EU and Turkey and, while it acknowledges that important steps had been accomplished, it also notes that the migrant influx is still very high.

It is stressed that the number of illegal crossings must be continuously and gravely limited and this requires further decisive action from the Turkish side.

The full document can be found here

Earlier on, Athens had warned that it would sign no conclusion unless all participating countries agreed to a clear statement that would exclude the possibility of a closure of the northern borders of Greece.

On the other hand, Berlin guaranteed that there would be no change in the current status until March 6 .

The Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu was expected to participate in the Summit yet the suicide bombing which took place in Ankara on Wednesday forced to postpone his trio.

While speaking to the press, the German chancellor said that the EU countries stand behind the plan for action between EU-Turkey.

A.Merkel stated that the most crucial announcement for today is that the leaders have not only confirmed the EU-Turkey action plan but that they have also accepted that it is their priority.

The president of the European Parliament, M.Schulz, stressed that if Europe fails to address the migrant crisis the consequences will be dire for Europe.  Mr.Schulz spoke against the practice of EU member states in dealing with the crisis only through their own interest and asked the EU leaders to do what is necessary in order to secure that Europe will exit the dead end where it now finds itself.

Regarding Turkey, the president of the EU parliament, stressed that it is still the country from where too many migrants travel towards Greece.