Greece has accused the EU of using Mediterranean nations as a car park for refugees and said it wanted the bloc to develop a system that allowed migrants to be moved to other countries.
The country is one of those facing large numbers of asylum seekers from outside the EU, through Turkey and dangerous trips across the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa.
The Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum, Notis Mitarachi, on Monday called out EU partners for their unwillingness to share the burden of hosting them.
Refugees granted international protection by EU nations cannot take full advantage of the bloc’s provisions for free movement.
But Ukrainians escaping the Russian invasion of their country face fewer restrictions.
“That is not fair, and Greece will insist on that point … the Ukrainian arrangement should apply to all refugees as long as they are officially recognised,” Mr Mitarachi said.
“Unfortunately, the EU at some point decided that countries of entry … would be used like a parking lot for refugees who want to come to Europe.”
The EU has struggled to overcome divisions among members over rules for refugee settlement and border protection, but wants a new migration agreement to be made next year.
Negotiations have shifted from resettlement quotas, which many eastern European countries have rejected, to a proposed voluntary system.
Mr Mitarachi welcomed a reported proposal that refugees could be granted free movement after a three-year waiting period, but warned that resettlement was likely to remain a major sticking point.
Greece, Spain, Italy, Malta and Cyprus expect about 160,000 people to arrive on their shores this year, he said.
Greece was a key transit point for hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees entering the EU in 2015-2016, with many fleeing wars in Iraq and Syria.
It has since toughened its borders and built a steel wall along its land border with Turkey.
The death toll from the sinking of a migrant boat off the Syrian coast after it sailed from Lebanon rose to 94 on Saturday.
It is the deadliest such incident since attempts to reach Europe illegally by sea have become more common.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
- 1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
- 2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
- 3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
- 4th ODI, Sunday, April 16
Squads:
- UAE: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
- Zimbabwe: Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PLUS
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BLACK%20ADAM
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'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
