By Dimitris Hatzidimitriou & Nikos Bellos
The Greek government continued to search for a political solution this week to the increasingly acute refugee / migrant crisis plaguing the country, given that the specter of hundreds of thousands of Mideast war refugees and irregular migrants from numerous Third World countries now look greater than ever.
Throughout the week continued landings of third country nationals on various Greek isles in the eastern Aegean from the opposite Turkish coast continued unabated, while no unified European response now appears easy or pending.
With more than 10,000 people already congregated at makeshifts camps on the border between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM), after authorities in the latter dramatically restricted entry to third country nationals, all eyes are now on the EU-Turkey summit on Monday.
Greek political party leaders will meet ahead of the EU summit under the auspices of the Greek president on Friday, while a cabinet meeting on Thursday will be convened on the very crisis.
One idea that appeared to fizzle this week was the prospect of Athens threatening to use a veto in EU fora, ostensibly to press the case for a common position on the refugee crisis – such as the “obligatory” reception of refugees by member-states based on population and economic size – or even to counter-act pressure by institutional creditors on Athens amid a delay in a review of the “Greek program”.
