Prague, Jan 20 (CTK) – Europe has to have a plan B in case it failed to improve the protection of Schengen and reduce the influx of migrants, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek (Social Democrats, CSSD) said yesterday, adding that a shifting of the border line protected by the EU comes into consideration.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (CSSD) on Tuesday spoke about a “reserve border system” along the Bulgaria-Macedonia line.
Zaoralek, nevertheless, said that even more northern variants have been discussed in Europe.
He said it is necessary to continue pushing for agreement between the parties to the conflict in Syria and for the observance of commitments by Greece and Turkey.
“We also have to consider the possibility that these plans will fail, that the countries will fail to fulfil and secure what has been pledged. They may not necessarily [fail] on their own will only, because the situation is really difficult. That is why plans B must be discussed as well,” Zaoralek told CTK.
One of the alternatives may be a change to the EU-protected borders.
“If the present external Schengen border were ineffective, we have to consider alternative [border] lines along which we would try to reduce the number of migrants coming to Europe,” Zaoralek said.
The Bulgaria-Macedonia line is one of such alternatives, he said.
Zaoralek said the European borders should be protected by a joint EU border guard. However, it will be far from easy to push through its establishment because reservations have been voiced about the proposed system by Poland, for example, he said.
The Czech Republic agrees that a possibility of sending in European border guard units should exist in case a country on the external Schengen border failed, Zaoralek said.
He said the EU has about two months to show its capability of coping with the situation. It is impossible to wait longer, he said, adding that he is rather dissatisfied with the results of the EU’s efforts so far.
He can see problems in the operation of the migrant registration hotspots along the outer border. Only three of them work now instead of the planned eleven, and the three operate rather ineffectively, he said.
The expected reduction of the migrant wave has not come true either for now, Zaoralek said.
He said his Slovenian counterpart told him recently that 1,000 new immigrants cross the Slovenian border every day.
In addition, “we know well that 1,500 refugees cross the Turkish-Greek border every day,” Zaoralek said.
