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EU gives Greece 3 months to control refugee influx

Friday, 12 February 2016 6:50 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 12 February 2016 6:48 PM ]

This image shows a refugee reacting after his rescue by MOAS (Migrant Offshore Aid Station) while attempting to reach the Greek island of Agathonisi, Dodecanese, southeastern Agean Sea, overnight on January 16, 2016. (AFP Photo)

The European Union has given Greece three months to fix its "deficiencies" in controlling the huge influx of refugees landing on the 28-nation bloc.

"It is of utmost importance that Greece addresses the issues... [and] establish an action plan to remedy the deficiencies" by 30 days, EU ministers said in a document containing 50 recommendations published on the European Council website on Friday.

If it fails to close its borders, the EU states have threatened to suspend Greece's membership in the Schengen passport-free EU zone in May.

Brussels could authorize other member states to exceptionally extend border controls within the EU's cherished Schengen area, including with Greece, for up to two years, instead of the normal six months.

The ultimatum comes after weeks of pressure on Greece, the main gateway for millions of refugees who entered Europe last year.

A report adopted 10 days earlier by the European Commission, the EU executive, found Greece was "seriously neglecting its obligations" and failing to properly register and fingerprint asylum seekers during inspections at the Turkish land border and several islands in the Aegean Sea last November.

In its defense, Greece claimed it had taken a number of measures at "substantial national financial and social cost" and reminded Brussels that the massive influx of refugees on its borders would put any member state under "severe pressure."

Athens, however, said it would continue cooperating with the EU member states in dealing with the refugee crisis.

The Schengen area allows passport-free travel through 26 countries, most of them in the EU, and is put forward as one of the major European achievements on unity.

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