EU about to propose new migration agreement which will alleviate burden from Greece

Vice president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas said that the European Commission will propose a new migration and asylum agreement in order for all the state members to fairly share the burden and the pressure.

Schinas made the statement on Saturday during an interview with Greek public broadcaster ERT, adding that the intention was to reform the Dublin Agreement which, as he said, "does not offer any solidarity solution but, essentially, passes on to the first reception countries, as Greece, disproportional management migration burden".

The Commission's aim, he added, "is to find a new solidarity network in order for the asylum applications to be distributed among all the EU state members and not to the entrance points as it happens today. Additionally, the new agreement will foresee returns for those not entitled to asylum and will also include agreements with third countries conditions in order to be able to create opportunities for citizens to remain in their homeland while there will also be a provision for legal migration.

Finally, Schinas characterised the European Council's condemnation of the Turkey-Libya memorandum very important because, as he said, it makes clear that the Greek and the Cypriot worries are not only Greek-Turkish and Cypriot-Turkish problems, but Euro-Turkish and part of the wider framework of the relations between Europe and Turkey.