While the tragic migrant shipwreck in international waters off the coast of Pylos has once more turned the spotlight on migration, the European Council's proposals show "contempt" for the extent of the problem, opposition PASOK-Movement for Change leader Nikos Androulakis said in Brussels, after attending the Party of European Socialists (PES) European Council Preparation meeting.
"You can't propose a mere 30,000 relocations when we had 960,000 asylum applications throughout the EU last year," he said, adding that Greece cannot adopt this proposal and must have its own.
"A proposal that forges solidarity between the European states, respects human rights and can address the real causes that escalate human mobility from third countries to the EU," he said.