With the verbal reassurance of Germany and France that the northern borders of Greece will not be closed in the next two weeks, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras returns to Athens to deal with the country’s internal problems like the farmers and the pensions reform.
The ‘guarantee’ was given to the Greek PM by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande during a trilateral meeting on Friday.
The status quo of no border closure will remain valid until March 6th 2016, when EU leaders will hold an extraordinary meeting on Migration Crisis with Turkey, which holds the key to stem the refugees and migrants flows to Europe. At this time also the first effects of NATO involvement on the issue will have been showed as the mission is scheduled to be officially launched at the end of February.
Alexis Tsipras threatened even to veto the European Leaders Summit conclusions should there be no guarantee that the northern borders between Greece and FYROM would remain open.
At the same time, hundreds of refugees and migrants keep arriving at the Greek islands also due to the good weather conditions. According to data form the Greek Coast Guard, 3,613 people were rescued in 74 operations in the last 48 hours.
Smugglers seem to seek and find new routes to reach the Greek coast. the remote island of Kastellorizo in the south of the Dodecanesse group of islands was flooded with refugees and migrants in the last 24 hours. More than 700 people landed on the island with less than 300 permanent residents, 5 policemen and 5 coast guard officers.
PS oh, Turkey expects the 3-billion euro cheque in order to take action, I suppose. This is also due end of the month or beginning of March.
Right, a guarantee not worth the paper it is not written on — that Germany and France will not allow Austria, Hungary and other countries to close their borders which would lead immediately to fYRoM to close the border with Greece.
This time it’s really difficult to figure what’s official, non-paper(s) and/or “leak(s)”, also Hollande and Märklin can and will only make remarks regarding their own borders.
But probably it’s not really important as the whole story stinks, the communiqué regarding the bomb in Ankara comes from a group the PKK thinks of as possible infiltrated by the Turkish services; the PKK is still bound up to stay in the mountains waiting that the winter will end while Turkish army and police are mass-murdering civilians and demonstrators orchestrated by fascist Osman music out of their tanks’ loudspeakers and the Turkish government is calling their innocent victims PKK-terrorists while the European free media is buying this demagoguery; hopefully a strong European movement will bring an end to the “terrorist” status of Kurdish freedom fighters.
think of the several groups that left pkk over the years and how the Kurds are divided. the moment one kills civilians is a terrorist group. one has to consider both sides’ point of view.
Yeah, sure and Varoufakis should visit Öcalan in his prison-island to pave a way for peace-talks but he won’t be allowed to call air-strikes against partisans (who have not even airforce) war-crime.
The Kurdish movements are much too feminist and radical-democratic and as they don’t want to have an own state they must be more terrorist than any.
The 1st thing Varoufakis will have to explain after a first meeting would be something like “My friend Apo just told me that the PKK doesn’t exist any more, since 10 years …or so”
I really am sorry, but I have not got it in me, to have any confidence of trust in Tsipras – every time I look at his image I feel sorry for Greece – go figure what it is about this man that makes me feel so negative.
never mind, you live also much too far away from GR + the EU
KTG – are talking to me ?
you say ‘never mind’
so I should not be concerned about what happens in Greece
because I live on the other side of the planet
Really
You may not speak out if we in Australia are in trouble
because we are so far away
what good would it do
or is it a case of “I ONLY CARE ABOUT MY PERSONAL SPACE” ?
and yet you want the WORLD to know your pain
maybe there is no one else BUT ME from the global community who is even slightly interested –
did you consider that
EVERYONE ELSE ON PLANET EARTH SAYS WHO CARES
Only that it matters to us also
WHY
Because if BOZO THE CLOWN – the gutless Tsipras – votes for the TTIP agreeement it also ADVERSLY affects Australians DIRECTLY
May the EU eat you alive –
Mathe kati apo ti zoi vre moro.