(refiling to fix slug)
Europe must rely on itself
to tackle the current refugee crisis, European Council President
Donald Tusk said Tuesday.
"Let us have no illusions," Tusk told the European
Parliament in Strasbourg.
"Today, we have to count mainly on ourselves. The world
around us does not intend to help Europe. Many of our neighbours
have much bigger problems to tackle, and some look with
satisfaction at our troubles," he continued, warning against use
of refugees as a political bargaining chip.
"We are slowly becoming witnesses to the birth of a new
form of political pressure, and some even call it a kind of a
new hybrid war, in which migratory waves have become a tool, a
weapon against neighbours. This requires particular sensitivity
and responsibility on our side," Tusk said.
"It is our common obligation to assist refugees as well as
to protect the EU's external borders," he continued.
"Everyone must take up this obligation and at the same time
no-one should be left alone with the burden. That is how I
understand solidarity," he said.
"We have to respect commonly agreed rules. When someone
says that they have no intention of observing European law, for
example Dublin or quotas, they undermine the essence of
solidarity and our community. Observing rules will always mean
sacrificing part of our interests. I would like to dedicate
these words to the Hungarians and the Italians, to the Slovaks
and the Greeks," Tusk added.
Returning to the subject of external border control,
"Europe without its external borders equals Europe without
Schengen" the European Council President said.
In this respect the EU needs to work with neighbouring
countries including Turkey, continued Tusk.
"We have no alternative," he said.
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