European Council President Against Exclusion of Greece From Schengen Area

European Council President Donald Tusk said on Tuesday he was against excluding Greece from the Schengen area, as the move was unlikely to solve the migrant crisis in Europe.

ATHENS (Sputnik) — In turn, Tsipras said that it was not "the time for exits" for Greece, adding that the bloc must join its efforts to address burning issues, including the migrant crisis.

"To all talking of excluding Greece from Schengen, thinking this is a solution to the migration crisis, I say — no, it is not…. Excluding Greece from the Schengen solves none of our problems," Tusk told reporters after talks with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens.

Greece has been under pressure from its fellow EU member states for several months, because most of the refugees arriving in the country continue their journey through the Balkans to Austria, Germany and Sweden without any restrictions.

The prospect of reinstating border controls with Greece became particularly high on the agenda last month after Austrian and Czech officials expressed their disapproval of Athens’ failure to secure its borders as migrants continue to use Greece as a transit country.

Earlier this week, a number of German politicians accused Greece of shirking its responsibility to protect the external borders of the European Union.

Cutting Ties?

© Sputnik / Vitaly Podvitski