MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ahead of the European Summit on February 18-19 devoted to the current large-scale refugee crisis, the NRC has warned that it is necessary to work out "a credible collective strategy" to respond to this challenge.
"If the Greek-Macedonian border is sealed, or if Greece is suspended from Schengen, Europe will see massive refugee camps on its soil as large numbers of people seeking protection will become trapped — unable to travel beyond Greece, nor return," NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland said, as quoted in the Council's statement.
"Closing borders will solve no problems, it will only serve to put people at increased risk and make them more dependent on smugglers," Egeland stressed.
The NRC recommends that the EU leadership admit more refugees through the bloc's relocation scheme, provide safe passage through its member states, create legal routes, support frontline states such as Greece and Italy and increase the humanitarian assistance provided to the countries the refugees are from, such as Syria and Afghanistan.
