News in brief
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is visiting the border region of Evros today, together with the leaders of the European Union’s top three institutions – European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Parliament President David Sassoli.
The group will then fly over the land border with Turkey in a helicopter and arrive at Guardpost 1 in Orestiada , where there will be a briefing by Hellenic National Defence General Staff chief Konstantinos Floros.
At 15:30, the prime minister and EU officials will make statements to the press.
EU foreign ministers are to hold an emergency meeting tomorrow, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said yesterday. The meeting was organised at the request of Greece, which faces a buildup of thousands of migrants on its border with Turkey.
Foreign Affairs minister Nikos Dendias is meeting in Athens today with his Austrian counterpart.
The White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump spoke with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the migration crisis evolving on Greece’s borders with Turkey, on Monday evening.
European officials, meanwhile, condemned Erdogan’s stance, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying that while she understands Turkey is facing a very big challenge in northwestern Syria, it is “wholly unacceptable” that instead of seeking a solution through dialogue with the EU, Erdogan is “taking it out on refugees.”
“No shots have been fired by Greek border forces against any individuals attempting to enter Greece illegally. The contrary amounts to no more than gross and deliberate misinformation: Fake News,” Government spokesman Stelios Petsas tweeted this morning, responding to Mevlut Cavusoglu who said that Greeks are killing refugees at the border in a ruthless way. Cavusoglu’s tweet was addressed to his German counterpart Haiko Maas.
Turkey is in no position to lecture anyone on International Law and human rights. After all, Turkey has been failing these particular courses for years, the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry stated this morning via twitter.
There is a total of almost 91 thousand confirmed cases of the coronavirus worldwide.
The European Central Bank is ready to take “appropriate and targeted measures” to fight the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, ECB President Christine Lagarde said in a statement.
Six people in the Seattle area have died of illness caused by the new coronavirus, health officials said on Monday, as authorities across the United States scrambled to prepare for more infections with an emphasis on increasing testing capacity.
28 schools in Athens, Thessaloniki and Xanthi are closed today, as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus. Moreover, all schools at Acharnon munipality are closed for disinfection.
A student rally has been planned at noon, at Propylaia.
And the weather forecast…
Partly cloudy in Attica this morning with local showers expected tonight. The temperature in Athens will reach a high of 19 degrees.
More news in brief tomorrow morning at 9.
