German government spokesman Steffen Seibert repeated the need for action against migrant and refugee traffickers in the Aegean and for a “more orderly situation” along the EU’s external borders between Greece and Turkey.

“We want to finally stop traffickers, who are currently doing whatever they liked placing so many people’s lives at risk,” he said adding that “this is why we want to bilaterally support both Turkey and Greece,”.

Asked whether Germany considered Greece unable to guard the EU’s external borders, Mr. Seibert noted that he was simply describing the reality that exists, which was that traffickers were transporting people to the Greek islands from the Turkish coast unbothered and had been doing so in large numbers for weeks and months.

According to Mr. Seibert , this was also the conclusion reached at the last European Council on the refugee issue and on which there was absolute agreement: there must be a return to effective control of the EU’s external borders.

“Germany will do what it can so that Greece receives the necessary support in this” he added.