EU foreign ministers to hold emergency meeting on Syria’s Idlib

The European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting next week to discuss the repercussions of the recent developments related to the Syrian conflict which forced thousands of refugees to cross the borders between Turkey and Greece.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday that the bloc “needs to redouble efforts to address this terrible human crisis with all the means at its disposal.”

“I am therefore calling for an extraordinary meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council next week to discuss the unfolding situation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov met yesterday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the Idlib crisis.

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Borisov has joined Erdogan in blaming the European Union for the collapse of the 2016 refugee deal.

Speaking at a joint press conference in Ankara, Erdogan justified allowing thousands of refugees to cross Turkey’s borders into Greece by accusing the EU of not paying Turkey €6 billion to host some four million Syrian refugees.

Later, Borisov said the EU “voted this money for Turkey…I cannot understand why they were not given”.

Borisov also said that he had spoken on Sunday with European Commission President Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ahead of the meeting with the Turkish president.