Greek PM Alexis Tsipras fears his country will be left to deal with asylum seekers
Greece’s economic woes dominated international news headlines through much of last year. Now, the country is becoming a center of attention for its refugee burden, as thousands of asylum seekers wash onto its shores from Turkey as part of their journey to Europe.Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has warned that his country is in an increasingly dangerous position. Although the vast majority of asylum seekers view Greece merely as a transit point, Greece’s neighbors are beginning to tighten borders and limit the passage of those seeking asylum. Austria, for instance, recently imposed strict entry limits on refugees, even those merely passing through, and refused to grant more than 80 asylum applications a day. Other EU states have called for Greece’s northern frontier to become Europe’s “second line of defense” against the influx of Middle Easterners, most of whom are Muslims.
Tsipras fears that, if these neighboring governments have their way, a logjam will result, trapping thousands of refugees within his country. The Greeks are already suffering through high unemployment and austerity, the latter being part of the bailout plan designed to protect Greece from bankruptcy and a rough breakup with the EU. The austerity program has required public spending cuts, including to pensions and social welfare. Greece would therefore hardly be equipped to handle the financial costs of maintaining a huge refugee population. The prime minister has bluntly stated that, if faced with such a reality due to intransigence from other European states, Greece would re-evaluate its role in the EU.
“We will not accept turning the country into a permanent warehouse of souls with Europe continuing to function as if nothing is happening,” said Tsipras, who has previously threatened to move closer to Russia if mistreated by fellow EU members.
Frontex, the EU’s collective border agency, has forecast the arrival of more than a million refugees in 2016. Already, since the start of the year, 100,000 have entered through Greece. Tsipras, who belongs to the left-wing Syriza party, has pledged that his government will remain sympathetic to the plight of asylum seekers and do all it can to help. On the other hand, the prime minister does not want to see Greek kindness exploited by neighbors seeking to minimize their own refugee burdens. Greek politicians who share Tsipras’ concern have similarly argued that Greece’s “10 million inhabitants cannot take on [their] shoulders the problems that are faced by 500 million Europeans.”
“[Europe] will either be in a union of common rules for all, or everyone will do they please,” Tsipras warned. “We will not accept the latter.”