Greek migrant camp overflows as Balkan states cap arrivals

Stranded refugees and migrants protest in front of the wire fence that separates the Greek side from the Macedonian one at the northern Greek border station of Idomeni, February. 27. AP Photo/Petros GiannakourisShow less

Athens // More than 5,000 people were stranded at the Idomeni camp on Greece’s northern border with Macedonia on Saturday after four Balkan countries announced a daily cap on migrant arrivals.

The build-up began in earnest last week after Macedonia started refusing entry to Afghans and imposed stricter document controls on Syrians and Iraqis, slowing the passage of migrants and refugees to a trickle.

And the situation looked set to worsen significantly after Slovenia and Croatia, both EU member states, and Serbia and Macedonia said on Vriday that they would restrict the number of daily arrivals to 580.

The tighter controls have left thousands – including many children – stuck in Greece, as Europe’s worst migration crisis since the Second World War shows no sign of abating.

By Saturday, the number of people at Idomeni had reached 5,500, local police said, with 800 others gathered at a temporary camp about 20 kilometres away.

Since Thursday night, only 150 people have crossed into Macedonia, officials said, putting the number of refugees and migrants currently on Greek soil at about 25,000.

Tensions were running high along the border with about 400 people protesting at the Idomeni crossing early on Saturday, demanding that the Macedonian authorities let them in.

“We are facing a humanitarian crisis that the others provoked. We have already tabled proposals for the provisions we need in order to fix this situation,” Greek migration minister Yiannis Mouzalas said.

Friday’s announcement by four Balkan states came a week after Austria said it would only allow 80 people claiming asylum per day and limit the daily number of people crossing the country to 3,200.

The move has sparked a bitter spat between Athens and Vienna and on Saturday about 200 people protested outside the Austrian embassy in the Greek capital to demand safe passage for refugees.

Austria has accused Greece of failing to police its borders properly and allowing many migrants to continue their journey northwards to western Europe.

“Europe can’t be indifferent to those of our partners who don’t respect their obligations,” Greek president Prokopis Pavlopoulos said on Saturday, referring to the border restrictions.

Last week, the European Union told Austria that limiting asylum claims was “plainly incompatible” with European and international laws.

Mr Mouzalas told Sto Kokkino radio that Greece intended to create provisional camps across the country to accommodate up to 3,000 people each, but “preferably 1,000 people, in order to cover their basic needs for a little while”.

Until the border situation is resolved, Greek authorities are trying to house migrants on the islands where they land by boat from neighbouring Turkey.

The overall situation on the islands has improved somewhat, with the Athens News Agency reporting that recent days have seen a drop in arrivals.

That also included Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. where “today there are 1,600 people while the camp can accommodate 4,000 people”, Mr Mouzalas said.

In another development, German interior minister Thomas de Maiziere, speaking on the eve of a visit to Morocco, urged “swifter and more efficient” expulsion procedures for North African migrants whose countries Berlin wants to be classed as “safe countries”.

However, relatively few Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians – about 3,000 in January – have sought asylum in Germany this year compared with the influx from war-torn Syria.

The Bavarian conservative leader Horst Seehofer meanwhile urged chancellor Angela Merkel to limit the number of people Germany is taking in after accepting more than a million migrants last year. He noted that EU neighbours were responding by enacting political reforms aimed at dissuading more people from coming.

“The more we see European solutions aren’t working the more we have to put in place national measures – control of our national borders and sending refugees back,” Mr Seehofer said.

* Agence France-Presse