Majority of the 28 EU member states adopt the highly critical Commission's report that “Greece seriously neglected its obligations on external border control”
"The draft report concludes that Greece seriously neglected its obligations and that there are serious deficiencies in the carrying out of external border controls that must be overcome and dealt with by Greek authorities," Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told a press conference.
The highly critical draft report found Greece was failing to properly register and fingerprint migrants, with security concerns still high after revelations that two jihadists behind November's Paris attacks slipped into Europe by posing as refugees.
Its findings pile further pressure on a country that has been fending off calls that it should face possible suspension from the 26-country Schengen zone, a cherished symbol of European unity.
Greece blasted the report as "unconstructive", accusing its EU peers of trying to shift blame instead of coming up with a joint solution to the continent's worst migration crisis since World War II.
Greece "is doing everything it can to respect its obligations, and we expect everyone else to do the same", government spokeswoman Olga Gerovassili.said, adding that "This tactic of diverting responsibility is not an effective response to a problem of historic dimensions, which requires joint action,"
And Greek junior migration minister Yannis Mouzalas told AFP the situation had changed since the EU carried out its inspection for the report at the Turkish land border and on several Greek islands.
In Brussels, Dombrovskis said that if a majority of the 28 EU member states adopt the Commission's report, it will draw up a plan for shoring up Greece's borders, especially its sea frontier with Turkey.
"Greece will then have three months to implement remedial actions," Dombrovskis said. "If necessary remedial actions are not being taken there is a possibility... which would allow member states to temporarily close their borders."