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Merkel
pede à UE para não deixar a Grécia “mergulhar no caos”
PÚBLICO 29/02/2016
- 09:07 (actualizado às 09:24)/ PÚBLICO
Milhares
de migrantes e refugiados acumulam-se em território grego, sem
conseguirem seguir viagem por causa do encerramento das fronteiras
nos Balcãs.
A União Europeia
não pode deixar a Grécia “mergulhar no caos” face à crise
migratória, avisou a chanceler alemã Angela Merkel ao final do dia
de domingo quando milhares de migrantes e refugiados se amontoavam em
território grego depois do encerramento das fronteiras em vários
países dos Balcãs.
Cerca de 600 pessoas estavam bloqueadas esta segunda-feira de manhã no posto fronteiriço de Idomeni, no Norte da Grécia, junto à Macedónia, depois de quatro países dos Balcãs terem decidido impor novas quotas de entrada para travar o fluxo de migrantes e refugiados.
Esta segunda-feria, tal como no sábado e no domingo, a Macedónia só deixou passar 300 pessoas que estão no campo de Idomeni, que tem capacidade para acolher 1500 pessoas. Skopje decidiu na semana passada recusar a passagem aos afegãos e reforçar o controlo de documentos de identidade dos sírios e iraquianos.
A situação vai agravar-se certamente depois de a Eslovénia e a Croácia, países membros da União Europeia, mas também a Sérvia e a Macedónia terem anunciado na sexta-feira que vão limitar a 580 o número diário de homens, mulheres e crianças que podem transitar para os países do Norte da Europa.
Estes países dos Balcãs seguiram o exemplo da Áustria, que decidiu há mais de uma semana limitar a entrada diária a 80 requerentes de asilo e a 3200 pessoas em trânsito.
Yiannis Mouzalas espera que o fluxo de migrantes acabe por diminuir quando a informação destas novas restrições chegar à Turquia, de onde parte a maioria dos candidatos à imigração. “Penso que o fluxo vai diminuir quando as notícias do encerramento do posto fronteiriço de Idomeni forem difundidas. Estamos a preparar uma campanha de informação destinada à Turquia.”
O ministro espera que esta iniciativa, juntamente com a chegada prevista de navios da NATO ao mar Egeu, consiga reduzir o número de chegadas à Grécia em cerca de 70%.
O Governo de Atenas
avisou que o número de pessoas bloqueadas na Grécia pode triplicar
em Março, para chegar aos 70 mil, devido às quotas impostas pelos
países dos Balcãs para travar o fluxo dos que querem seguir viagem
para vários destinos europeus
“Será possível
acreditar que os países da zona euro lutaram até ao fim para manter
a Grécia no euro (…), para agora, um ano mais tarde, deixarmos a
Grécia mergulhar no caos?”, perguntou a chanceler, visivelmente
indignada, num programa do canal público ARD.
“O meu dever e a
minha obrigação é garantir que esta Europa encontre um caminho
conjunto” para enfrentar a crise migratória, lançou Merkel,
sublinhando que mantém contactos regulares com o primeiro-ministro
grego, Alexis Tsipras. Para o próximo dia 7 está marcada uma
cimeira UE-Turquia que se prevê de difícil consenso entre os cada
vez mais divididos estados-membros da UE.
“Segundo as nossas
estimativas, o número daqueles que estão retidos no nosso país irá
rondar entre as 50 mil e as 70 mil pessoas no próximo mês”,
declarou este domingo o ministro grego da política migratória,
Yiannis Mouzalas.
“Actualmente, há
22 mil refugiados e migrantes na Grécia”, disse o ministro numa
entrevista ao canal Mega Channel.
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'I
will do my damn duty' on refugees, says Merkel
Published: 29 Feb
2016 08:55 GMT+01:00
Chancellor
Angela Merkel insisted that her chosen course in Germany and Europe's
refugee crisis was the right one in a TV interview on Sunday night,
despite admitting to moments of doubt.
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tough new asylum rules (25 Feb 16)
"My damn duty
and obligation consists of finding a collective way for this Europe
[to address the crisis]" Merkel told presenter Anne Will in her
second appearance on the Sunday night talk show in five months.
While she admitted
to being pressed hard on some issues – "you at least haven't
given me an easy time of it," she told Will at the close of the
conversation – the Chancellor appeared much more relaxed and
confident than during her last live interview in October.
When Merkel was
confronted with the angry mobs that have opposed refugees arriving in
their towns and even abetted arson against asylum housing in recent
weeks, she reminded viewers of the German Constitution's most sacred
principle that "human dignity is inviolable".
"These are
citizens who are doing something that I deeply reject," she said
– although she was happy to discuss people's fears if they remained
peaceful and were prepared to listen.
That earned her
strong applause from the studio audience.
Isolated in Europe?
The response from
the public was weaker when discussing the actual measures Germany is
taking to reduce the numbers of refugees arriving.
Merkel stuck to her
well-rehearsed plan: European nations should work together with
Turkey to secure their collective external borders, allowing them to
uphold the Schengen free-movement area despite some nations' fears of
migrants.
Meanwhile, by
improving conditions in refugee camps outside Syria's borders and
deploying all the West's diplomatic strength to bring about a
ceasefire in the war-torn country, the Chancellor hopes to reduce the
numbers of people starting on the long trail towards Europe.
"This may all
be going too slowly for some people," she said, but "belief
can move mountains".
"I am firmly
convinced that the path I have started down is the right one,"
she went on.
What about Austria?
But she had little
new to say to Will when the journalist confronted her with Austria
and the western Balkan nations' decision last week to close their
borders – in apparent contradiction of what was agreed at the last
European summit on February 18th.
That's left
thousands of migrants stranded in Greece - the first point where most
refugees fleeing through Turkey set foot on European soil - which is
already struggling under the numbers arriving.
"This is
exactly what I'm afraid of," Merkel said. "If one person
sets his border, the other has to suffer. That is not my Europe."
"We can't leave
[Greece] in the lurch," she added, especially after so much
effort had been expended to keep the Hellenic Republic in the Euro
single currency last year.
European leaders
will gather again on March 7th in Turkey for further talks, she said,
in an extraordinary summit brought forward from the planned next
meeting on March 18th.
She will be hoping
that there are more signs of progress – even small – that she can
bring back to her people next week.
But even so, neither
slow progress nor a bad result for her Christian Democratic Union
(CDU) at upcoming regional elections will turn the Chancellor aside.
"I don't see
anything that could cause [my policy to fail], because everything has
been thought through and is logical. No-one doubts this logic,"
she said.
"Even [Bavarian
state premier and outspoken critic of the refugee policy] Horst
Seehofer says 'I wish you success on this path'.
"Unfortunately,
some people just don't believe in it."
Angela
Merkel’s ‘damned duty’
German
chancellor criticizes Austria and defends Greece on migration.
By JANOSCH DELCKER
2/29/16, 12:09 AM CET Updated 2/29/16, 12:18 AM CET
BERLIN — German
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday night criticized countries along
the so-called Balkan route into Europe for closing their borders to
refugees and defended her more liberal approach to the migration
crisis.
“If one [country]
closes its borders, another one has to suffer – this is not my
Europe,” she said in an interview with German public broadcaster
ARD.
Earlier this month,
Austria announced a cap on the number of refugees it plans to allow
into the country. As other states along the Balkans route limit or
block border access, a bottleneck of migrants has been growing in
Greece, the first port of arrival that had previously waved most
arrivals on north further into Europe.
Merkel said that
Austria’s decision in particular has put great strain on Greece and
compelled the EU to hold an additional summit on migration with
Turkey on March 7.
“If Austria hadn’t
made this decision, we could have waited until our regular council
[session] on March 18,” she said. “We can’t just desert Greece.
This is why we will talk – with Greece – about how we can
re-install the Schengen [open border] system, step by step.”
Asked about a
comment by Luxemburg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn that Europe
was in danger of “anarchy,” Merkel replied that her job as a
politician was to solve a difficult situation, not to describe it.
Migrant families
wait to enter a registration camp after crossing the Greek-Macedonian
border near the town of Gevgelija
Facing pressure at
home from her conservative allies in the Christian Social Union to
place a cap on refugees allowed into Germany, Merkel rejected such
proposals.
“I personally
think it’s wrong,” she said, “And I am not being wilfully
obstructive here, I am being honest.”
While Merkel is
known to dislike TV appearances, Sunday’s hour-long interview was
her second in five months.
Authors:
Janosch Delcker
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