PIRAEUS, Greece — Greece appealed to its European Union partners Friday for more help in policing its sea borders as people increasingly make dangerous journeys to escape war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.
Deputy Minister for Merchant Marine Thodoros Dritsas said it is “a matter of urgency” for EU countries to show greater solidarity with the financially struggling country.
He advocated more ships, aircraft and personnel, increased funding and stronger operational cooperation with EU border agency Frontex, which has been assisting Greece for the past five years.
“I don’t think any country can handle [the influx] alone. It is a European problem,” he said, after talks in Athens with Frontex executive director Fabrice Leggeri. Dritsas said EU assistance also would ensure that refugees reaching Greek shores enjoy full humanitarian assistance, “without that bringing our country to its knees.”
Greece is the EU’s second biggest gateway, after Italy, for people crossing the Mediterranean into Europe. Most are families fleeing war in Syria.
At the country’s busiest port of Piraeus, near Athens, more than 200 people from Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan arrived late Friday on ferries from Greek islands facing Turkey.
Most of the refugees arrive by sea, after risking the hazardous journey from neighboring Turkey, usually crammed into rickety boats provided by smuggling gangs that charge several thousand dollars per head. Fatal accidents are frequent, and the influx is expected to grow as weather conditions improve in the spring and summer.