Juncker calls 10 EU leaders – including Greece – to attend mini-refugee summit

The Greek side wants all countries to undertake their fair share of the burden and for Turkey to impose greater controls on refugees entering the EU without documentation

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is taking part in the informal European Summit on migration for countries that are affected by the so-called “Balkan corridor” in Brussels.

The Summit is being held according to an initiative by European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker. He has invited the leaders of ten countries to participate (Greece, Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Croatia, Fyrom, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia).

EU sources indicate that the goal of the summit is to persuade the 10 leaders for the need for a better coordination of issues concerning migrants and refugees. The main aim is to help increase border controls at a time when a number of political leaders are threatening to close off their borders.

There is the hope on Greece’s side that Turkey will take measures to control the number of refugees entering Europe though Turkey is not participating in Sunday’s Summit. Greek officials also want refugees already in the EU to be managed and for each country to undertake its share of the burden.