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Greek Leader Vows No EU Border Closures

20 February 2016 18:59 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Greece will not be expelled from the passport-free Schengen zone as proposed by EU member states disaffected by the unending number of migrant arrivals, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Saturday, APA reports quoting Sputnik.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande reportedly reassured Tsipras in a closed-doors meeting that Athens would remain in the border-free zone until a March 6 extraordinary EU summit.

"There are and will be no closed borders," Tsipras argued to lawmakers, as quoted by the Kathimerini daily.

European leaders are scheduled to discuss the refugee crisis with Turkey, a recipient of EU's $3 billion action plan to curb migrant numbers, on March 6. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, who was initially scheduled to address the issue at the February 18-19 European Council, canceled his trip to Brussels following the deadly Ankara car bombings.

"We cannot accept responsibility-shy bureaucrats pointing their fingers at us and telling us what to do," Tsipras stressed, referring to East and Central European favoring a backup plan to Brussels’ solutions.