In an interview to French newspaper ‘Le Monde’, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras warned that the EU was on the brink of disintegration, if the EU failed to present solutions to the problem of unemployment. A day before the meeting of the Mediterranean countries in Athens, Tsipras stressed that the economic situation would gradually show signs of improvement. Tsipras repeated his demand to EU leaders of a debt relief, otherwise Greece would not be able to return to growth. The Greek PM was confident on the successful outcome of the deal between the EU and Turkey and the curtailment of the refugee flows, but expressed his discontent on the delays on the part of other EU member states comply with the relocation program of the refugees. ‘It is unacceptable that only 3,000 refugees and migrants have been relocated in 2016, from the 33,000 provided in the agreement’, Tsipras told Le Monde. Tsipras clarified that his initiative to summon a meeting of the EU Mediterranean countries Athens was not intended to create division within the EU, but rather an attempt to explore a common approach on the part of the EU peripheral states in managing the refugee crisis.