Despite the fact that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Minister of Defence Panos Kammenos stated that hotspots will be ready within next week, Shipping Minister Theodoros Dritsas stated on Thursday that they will be ready by the end of February.

“The government is working hard and I estimate that the five hotspots on the Aegean islands, and the temporary accomodation centres in Schisto, Athens, and in Sindos, Thessaloniki, will be operational by the end of the month,” Mr. Dritsas said in statements to ANA-MPA.

The minister urged local communities to follow the islanders, that with few exceptions handled efficiently the refugee issue, and did not rule out the risk of refugees getting stuck in our country, if some neighboring countries decide to close the borders.

“The government is making all the necessary moves so that this is averted,” he underlined adding that the creation of hotspots is a “national issue.”

He also stressed that the government will take initiatives in case of negative developments so that migration flows do not affect one or two areas, but the impact is spread throughout the country and is manageable in human terms.

Regarding the NATO involvement, Mr. Dritsas said that if Europe believes that the solution to its inability to take bold and coherent cooperation decisions is an even greater ‘militarization’ of the management of the problem, then it is “making a big mistake.”