Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos on Tuesday had a meeting at Maximos Mansion, with their statements reflecting a convergence of views on changes over EU migration policy. The main issue is the redistribution of migrants and in this context, the change of Dublin II and Dublin III, while they had common views on showing solidarity towards the countries of the European South that bear the brunt of the migration flows. Tsipras stressed the need for a national strategy regarding the addressing of the migration issue without any partisan expediency while Avramopoulos highlighted the concerns that prevail in the EU while calling on the Greek government to take adjustment steps on its policy over the issue. The premier said the EU migration policy is the “cornerstone” of the EU policy, as it is also a matter of humanitarianism and solidarity and stressed the need for the issue to be dealt with. Tsipras referred to the failure of the current EU policy noting that Greece due to political choices and decisions of the past has become a negative example. Regarding the way to deal with the issue, the premier spoke of a double solidarity; first, to the people who migrate and secondly to the EU countries that are migrant gateways. This solidarity, the premier said, should be turned into action with the revision of the Dublin II and III and through that, a better redistribution of asylum seekers, which is, as he said, a concern for the European Commission. Tsipras reiterated the need for a national strategy of migration without petty partisan expediency which legalizes the extreme rhetoric and basically favors extreme right, Golden Dawn and neo-Nazi. Avramopoulos said migration has turned into an international issue as it touched upon the country’s geopolitical stance. He shared the premier’s concerns for changes in Dublin II and III and noted that changes are also needed in the EU, which can start from the European Council. He agreed with the need for Greece to have a national strategy on migration and announced that next month he would present his report on migration and security. The Commissioner said this issue cannot be exploited as its sends the wrong messages abroad and asked the government to take the necessary steps as soon as possible so as to adjust to the new reality, noting that Greece is not alone and it has the solidarity of the EU. Negotiations The premier and the commissioner referred to the ongoing negotiations with the institutional partners. Tsipras said negotiations evolve and mature, that he received a message of friendship from Jean-Claude Juncker and added that he exchanged views with Avramopoulos so that negotiations can have tangible results. Avramopoulos stated that Greece’s stability is a guarantee of security and noted that the negotiations are not connected with the migration issue. He spoke of the need for government cohesion and for making use of the so-called Juncker package and underlined that there cannot be a Greek government which would allow Greece to exit the hard-core of the EU. EU subsidies According to a note distributed by Avramopoulos’ associates, Greece in 2014-2020 will get 460.7 million euros from the EU. Of these funds, 259.3 million euros will be allocated to migration, 166.8 million to the Internal Security Fund and 14 million to Internal Security. (source: ana-mpa)
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