EU gives Greece two weeks to form border plan

The European Commission on Tuesday gave Greece two weeks to come up with concrete plans to improve protection of the European Union’s external border, keeping up the pressure on Athens over the migrant crisis even as the numbers coming into the bloc have fallen.

The EU has criticised the country over its registration system, which is meant to fingerprint the hundreds and thousands of migrants who have arrived there from Turkey.

It also said more action is needed before emergency controls inside the free-travel zone can be lifted.

Athens must now clearly state which officials are involved in implementing the plan and also show it will properly use EU funds earmarked for the migrant control measures, officials said.

A statement added: ‘The Commission requests that Greece provide the additional elements and clarifications by 26 April and offers its continuous support to Greece.’

It did, however, acknowledge Athens had made ‘significant progress’ in implementing other elements of the action plan.