Greece risks exit from the Schengen Area, a plan discussed at the informal meeting of internal, justice and migration ministers in Amsterdam on Monday. French daily Le Monde reports that the matter will be perused when the College of EU Commissioners convenes on Wednesday.
Both Le Monde and Times point to EU member states such as Hungary, Austria and Slovenia pushing for the closure of borders between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) that would essentially exclude Greece from passport-free travel in Europe.
European Commissioner Jean-Claude Juncker may be against this position, states Politico, however the UK’s Financial Times points to a report sent by Juncker to Slovenia’s Prime Minister Miroslav Cerar that encourages and gives guidelines for the development of a European force at the borders between FYROM and Greece that would result in a “de facto” exit from the Schengen Zone as Greece would effectively be sealed off from the rest of the continent.
At the meeting on Monday there were also calls for Greece to set up vast holding camps for 300,000-400,000 refugees in Athens so as to stem the flow of unchecked migrants entering the continent.
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