Refugees in Gabčíkovo camp. (source: Sme )
Syrian refugees started flowing into the EU in 2015 also due to the situation among camps in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon. According to Dušan Chrenek, the EU is a magnet for refugees "because the Union has always observed international rules, provided help to foreigners, and observed their fundamental rights", he said in an interview with the SITA newswire.
Chrenek admitted the EU did not expect this wave of refugees, and it can handle it only if it proceeds united, with responsibility and solidarity.
The plan proposed by the EC focuses on the situation at the EU's borders, Chrenek said. In order for fatalities not to occur at the borders, the EU strengthened the Triton and Poseidon operations in the Mediterranean, and launched an operation against smugglers, EUNAVFOR MED.
"Other measures concern improving border controls and action in the countries outside the EU with the aim to lower the motivation to migrate," Chrenek told SITA.
