Editorial Ta Nea: Refugee, migrant flows

There can be no management of the refugee and migrant crisis without agreements on the basics

Some of the necessary understandings are that these people cannot be allowed to drown at sea and that Aegean islands across from the Turkish border cannot shoulder the entire burden, as if the entire issue does not concern the rest of the country but only Lesvos, Samos, and Chios.

Clearly it is necessary to have a plan to distribute geographically the refugees and migrants and put them up in structures that will not offend their human dignity or the dignity of the country.

Obviously, local communities should not slip into attitudes and behaviours that have been adopted by EU countries when the issue of migrant distribution was raised at the EU-wide level.

Mayors cannot transform into little Orbans.

That does not mean that the government should not marshal all of its tools of communication both in order to explain its plan and to protect local societies from various deceptions surrounding the refugee and migrant issue – such as the idea that the presence of migrants will result in a higher crime rate.

It also does not mean that the government should not exhaust all means to get the EU to assume its responsibilities.

The refugee and migrant issue cannot be solved or even confronted without the active participation of the European Union.