Balkan Route to Stay Closed for Refugees

• 03.16.2016, 17:49
•  Europe,  World

Вести http://www.vesti.ru/

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said there was "no chance" border shutdowns throughout the Balkans would be lifted, Reuters reports. "Decision is not taken accidently and we believe there is no chance that those who shut the route will reopen it," Tsipras said.

The so-called "Balkan route" is the way by which migrants reach Germany from Greece. The route passes through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Every day around 2,000 refugees reach the Greek islands, than they move to Macedonian border. From here they can reach any European city by train.

The decision to close the "Balkan route" has been made during the EU-Turkey Summit. It means that all the countries that lie on this route including Greece will return illegal migrants back to Turkey. In exchange of every returned refugee the EU counties will accept one Syrian refugee from Turkey.  The details of the Action Plan between Turkey and the EU will be discussed during the EU Summit on March 17-18.

Deutsche Welle says the Balkan countries have hardly ever been as united as they are now.

Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia insist that their countries are not the final destination of migrants. Refugees want to reach Germany and Austria through Balkans.

In fact, statistics proves these claims. In 2015, 800,000 refugees passed through the "Balkan route". Most of them reached Germany. Only 1,578 refugees applied for asylum in Macedonia. It turns out that the Balkan countries have for months left hundreds of thousands of refugees from one border to another till Austria, Germany and Sweden.