Tusk warns illegal economic migrants against coming to Europe

Tusk warns illegal economic migrants against coming to Europe

PanARMENIAN.Net - European Council President Donald Tusk warned Thursday, March 3, illegal economic migrants against coming to Europe, during a new push to solve the EU migrant crisis, BBC News reports.

He said illegal economic migrants were risking "lives and money" for nothing.

Tusk is visiting Greece and Turkey to try to secure agreement on reducing the flow of migrants travelling west.

More than 25,000 migrants have been left stranded in Greece by a tightening of border controls to the north, raising fears of a humanitarian crisis.

On Thursday, a group of migrants blocked a railway line on the Greek side of the border with Macedonia to protest at the restrictions.

The restrictions were imposed after Austria and several Balkan countries decided only to allow Syrian and Iraqi migrants across their frontiers.

The move effectively barred passage to thousands of people seeking to reach western Europe illegally, including Afghans as well as some more likely to be regarded as economic migrants.

Separately, thousands of migrants are living rough around the French port of Calais, hoping to be able to enter the UK.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande are expected to discuss the issue in talks later in the day.

After meeting Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens on Thursday, Tusk said he was appealing to "all potential illegal economic migrants", wherever they may be from.

"Do not come to Europe," he said. "Do not believe the smugglers. Do not risk your lives and your money. It is all for nothing."

He also said EU member states must avoid taking unilateral action to deal with the migrant crisis. Migration is also due to be discussed at a UK-French summit on Thursday.

UK PM David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande will hold talks in the French city of Amiens. Counter-terrorism and conflicts in Libya and Syria are also expected to be on the agenda, the BBC says.

Hours before the meeting, French Finance Minister Emanualle Macron said his country could allow migrants to travel unchecked to the UK if British voters chose to leave the European Union in a June referendum.

Tusk has been touring capitals in central and south-eastern Europe this week, trying to ease tensions caused by the migration crisis.

His visits are seen as laying the groundwork for an EU-Turkey summit on the issue on March 7.

"Not for a moment can we stop our efforts to improve the co-operation with our neighbors, starting with Turkey," Tusk said in Vienna on Tuesday.

He said Europe was ready to grant "substantial financial support" to countries neighboring war-torn regions such as Syria and Iraq.

"But at the same time we expect a more intensive engagement from our partners as an absolute precondition to avoid a humanitarian disaster. This will be the subject matter of my talks in Turkey this Thursday and Friday," he said.

Turkey has expressed frustration at the lack of a common position from the EU on the crisis.

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