MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in March, the EU-Turkey reached an agreement on migration that envisages Ankara taking back all undocumented migrants who enter Greece from Turkey and sending in return approved Syrian refugees on a one-for-one basis. The migration deal put an end to the Balkan route, used by migrants to travel through Greece and Macedonia to apply for asylum in prosperous EU states.
"Fewer refugees are arriving in Central Europe because they have been stranded in Greece. A humanitarian emergency has sparked there. Solving one's own problems by causing hardship for European partners – this is not the way to treat each other in Europe," Steinmeier told the Funke media group in an interview published Monday.
Macedonia closed its border with Greece to incoming migrants in February after other countries along the Balkan route had closed their borders, including Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. The border closures have resulted in thousands of refugees being stranded in Greece, particularly along the border with Macedonia.
