Athens: Nine European countries at the Mediterranean held a summit in Athens Friday afternoon to discuss the issue of climate change to migration and Afghanistan.
The one-day meeting was nicknamed Eumed 9, brought together Spanish leaders, France, Italy, Malta, Greece and Cyprus, and new additional Slovenia and Croatia.
Portugal sent foreign ministers, while the head of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen will also attend the meeting.
Climate change and its effect on the region will be the first topic of discussion after this summer see the destructive forest fires sweep the area.
Greece was very affected, with the worst wave of the country in decades to trigger hundreds of forest fires that stretch their fire resources with limits and see their appeal for international assistance.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsakakis blamed fires in climate change and had promised to make handle what he had described as a climate crisis of one of his government’s top priorities.
The leaders are expected to issue a joint declaration at the end of Friday’s meeting which set the priority of all European Mediterranean countries to climate change, “Mitsotakis said, ahead of a meeting with Croatian colleagues, Andrej Plenkovic, Andrej, before the start of the Summit.
Migration will be the main topic of other discussions, With Greece, Italy, Spain, and Malta lying on the main routes of smugglers using to make people to the European Union.
Greece has long been the fastest route to the EU, with the East Aegean Islands located close to Turkish beach.
Both Greece and the more broad European Union want to avoid repetition in 2015, when about one million people, many of them escaped from the war in Syria, crossing to the block, a majority of majority arrived in the Greek Islands of Turkey.
Worried by the latest events in Afghanistan, Greece has explained, increasingly introducing His attitude towards migration.
has added border security, Employing technology, and increased patrols on land and sea to expel prospective migrants.
The country has also been widely accused by groups of groups and migrants themselves in carrying out illegal summaries of deportation in the ocean of people reaching the Greek Islands, without letting them submit asylum applications.
Greek officials loudly denied claims but said they were strong patrolling the ground and sea borders.
During the conference, Greece and Cyprus are also expected to bring up Turkish problems, neighbors with whom they have a series of disputes, including the right of energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean.