EU and Balkan leaders agree on migration plan

(Baonghean.vn) - Leaders of the European Union (EU) and Balkan countries agreed at a meeting in Brussels, Belgium on a 17-point plan to cooperate in dealing with the flow of migrants through the Balkan peninsula, according to a source from the European Commission on the morning of October 26.

Migrants walk through a field after crossing the Croatian border into Slovenia on October 25. Thousands of people are trying to reach northern Europe via the Balkans, but often have to wait for days in rainy, muddy conditions at the borders of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Photo: AP.

Among the measures agreed at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday evening was that there should be 100,000 additional reception centre places along the route from Greece to Germany, half in Greece and the rest in northern countries. The UN refugee agency will help set up these places.

The leaders also agreed that the EU's border agency Frontex would step up its operations on the Greek-Macedonian border to ensure that those attempting to cross there are registered.

“We have made it clear that we must stop simply waving our hands and letting them cross our borders,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters, referring to cooperation agreements and avoiding the unilateral measures by individual countries that have contributed to the chaos across the region.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who pushed for the recent meeting, said: “Europe must show that it is a continent with precious values, a continent of unity, solidarity… This is a constructive bloc but we need to do more.”

Thu Giang

(According to Reuters)