ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The latest on the flow of refugees and other migrants cross Europe in search of a new life. All times local.
11:50 a.m.
Police say they have arrested two Albanians and a Turk on smuggling charges for arranging for Turkish citizens to get into European Union countries without visas through Albania.
Police said in a statement Friday that the three were arrested at Tirana airport. They are accused of helping Turkish citizens, who need no visa to enter Albania, move on to Montenegro, Serbia and Hungary as a means of making their way to other EU countries.
They allegedly charged 3,600 euros ($3,900) per person. The three face up to 10 years’ imprisonment if found guilty.
Albania is not on the route of refugees and migrants from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries heading to the European Union. The main route is from Turkey to Greek islands, then north through Macedonia and Serbia toward other EU nations.
The government says, however, it has made preparations to shelter refugees should they begin arriving in Albania during the winter.
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11:30 a.m.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has invited mayors of eastern Aegean islands bearing the brunt of the current refugee influx to Athens for an emergency meeting on how to deal with the crisis.
The meeting, scheduled for midday Friday, was also to be attended by the north and south Aegean regional governors as well as mayors and religious officials from the islands of Lesbos, Samos, Kos, Leros and Chios, and government officials.
Greece is the main gateway into the European Union for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing war and poverty at home. The vast majority arrive after a short but dangerous sea journey to Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast and then head to the mainland and on to more prosperous northern EU countries through the Balkans.
Hundreds have drowned, including many children, when their overcrowded and unseaworthy boats have sunk or capsized.
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