EMERGENCY STATEMENT ON THE ONGOING SITUATION IN GREECE “IT’S TIME FOR EUROPE TO CHANGE COURSE”

“Police use tear gas against migrants attempting to cross the Greek border. The coast guard shoot at a refugee boat. Far-right militants use sticks and rocks to attack migrants on the Greek islands. The Prime Minister announces the suspension of asylum applications in Greece for the next month. A three-year-old boy dies during an attempted landing. This is just some of what has happened in Greece over the past two days and we are deeply concerned. It is the result of a short-sighted and hypocritical policy that refuses to seriously address the topic of migration. The price is now being paid.”

This is EMERGENCY’s statement on what is currently happening in Greece.

“The European Union paid Erdogan €6 billion to keep migrants fleeing the Middle East’s wars from reaching its shores. Today, Erdogan has raised the stakes and is using human lives to blackmail Europe. He refused to review the Dublin agreements, but there are no national borders that can truly contain the flow of people who are escaping. Today, the presidents of the European Union’s Commission, Parliament and European Council will be on the Greek border. The time has come to change course. Either Europe places human rights as the fundamental foundation for its actions, or it will lose all moral credibility. There are no other alternatives.“