Greece wants spirit of Schengen respected

​​​​​​​By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) - Greece stressed Tuesday that it wants the spirit of the Schengen Agreement, which allows more than 400 million people to travel freely between the 29 EU members without going through border controls, to be respected.

“To my German colleague, I emphasized that the spirit of the Schengen Treaties and the European Pact on Migration and Asylum must be respected in order not to be led down roads which would cause unilateral actions and thus put risk, not only the spirit of Schengen and the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, but also the very spirit of the European Union at risk,” Migration Minister Nikos Papadopoulos told reporters as he entered the Western Balkans Summit in Berlin.

He maintained that Germany’s decision to introduce controls on the number of people it allows into the country on land borders has something to do with the government coming under pressure because of the migration issue -- evident in the results of recent regional elections.

The German move has irked Greece because Athens contends it should have been done in consultations with other EU members.

“In any case, however, we discuss everything in a climate of understanding and nothing is going to be done in terms of imposing one's position on the other,” he added.

The Kathimerini newspaper reported, however, that Greece has decided to boost security at its northeastern border with Türkiye following the move by Germany.

Sources told the newspaper that patrols at the border will be increased by around 20%, by transferring extra border guards from other areas.

Athens is also considering an expansion of the border fence, with the present contract for the central Evros River nearing completion, it added.

Diplomatic contacts and processes are underway for the extension of the fence to be financed by both national and European funds, according to Kathimerini.