Plans for a wall on Greece's border with Turkey embarrass Brussels

Supporters of the Migrant Solidarity Network gather near barbwire fencing, which they set up to represent the fence Greece plans to erect on its Turkish border, during a protest in Istanbul. Photograph: Murad Sezer/Reuters

The Greek government's plans to build a wall three metres high along part of its border with Turkey have prompted confusion in Brussels. The project, unveiled by the minister of civil defence, Christos Papoutsis, aims to restrict illegal immigration in an area with no natural barriers. The strip of land has become a major thoroughfare for migrants attempting to enter the European Union, with 90% of illegal migrants now passing through Greece.

The wall is to be built on a 12km stretch of frontier in Thrace. The area south of the river Evros, which takes a turn through Turkey, is highly permeable. About 128,000 illegals entered Greece at this location last year, according to Papoutsis.

The European commission expressed reservations about the project. "Walls or fences are short-term measures that are not meant to deal with the question of illegal immigration in a structural way," said the spokesman on security. Talks with Athens are likely to be difficult. The government has rejected "hypocritical" criticism, emphasising the need to "protect the rights of Greek citizens". Past complaints by European partners have focused on Greece's failure to guard its borders, the pitiful state of its detention centres and the treatment inflicted on asylum seekers.

The French and Germans are concerned about the future of theSchengen area due to the influx of illegal immigrants through Greece. The British, Dutch and Swedish authorities have stopped sending undocumented migrants back to Greece, even when there is proof they came by that route. Some governments even suspect that the Greeks floated the idea of a wall to put pressure on their partners and have theFrontex mission extended. The EU agency deployed 200 border guards south of the Evros river in October but they are due to be withdrawn at the end of February.

The Turkish government seems reluctant to get involved in the controversy. Located at the crossroads of migratory flows from the Middle East, Asia, the Caucasus and increasingly Africa, it has problems of its own.

This story originally appeared in Le Monde