GENEVA: German Chancellor Angela Merkel says Greece and Spain have declared that they’re prepared to take back migrants already registered in those countries who arrive in Germany.
Merkel is locked in a dispute with her interior minister over his call for German to turn back at its borders people who’ve already been registered or applied for asylum in another European Union country and his threat to carry out the plan over her objections. She has been adamant that Germany should not take unilateral action for fear that it could trigger a cascade of uncoordinated decisions.
Merkel said after a European Union summit in Brussels Friday that Greece and Spain, whose leaders she met bilaterally, agreed to take back in future migrants previously registered in those countries who are picked up at the German-Austrian border.
EU Council President Donald Tusk says the hard-fought migration deal reached overnight is only the first stepping stone to deal with the situation.
“It is far too early to talk about a success,” Tusk said at the end of the two-day summit.
EU leaders claimed a breakthrough deal early Friday on how to deal with the pressures of migration, after all-night talks helped accommodate Italian demands for more help.
The EU leaders said the agreement would bolster the bloc’s external borders and improve the solidarity among member nations to ease pressure on point-of-entry nations like Greece and Italy.
“This is in fact the easiest part of the task compared to what awaits us on the ground when we start implementing it,” Tusk said.
Merkel: Greece, Spain will take back migrants
BERLIN, GERMANY - AUGUST 27: German Chancellor Angela Merkel pauses for a selfie with a Muslim family among visitors during the annual open-house day at the Chancellery on August 27, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. Germany will hold federal elections on September 24 and Merkel is seeking a fourth term as chancellor. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)