Greece: EU members refusing refugees should be sanctioned

Greece said Friday it will call on the European Union to impose sanctions on member states that refuse to accept refugees, as senior European officials visited Ankara and Athens to try and stem a surge in migrant arrivals overwhelming Greek islands.

A group of central and eastern EU nations including Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic have opposed mandatory EU relocation quotas for refugees — an action that Athens says puts an unfair burden on border member states like Greece, Spain, and Italy.

"I will say this clearly: I will raise the issue of specific sanctions for European countries that refuse to take part in a fair distribution of refugees on a European level," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

"It is an act of hypocrisy," he added. "You cannot enjoy the benefits of (border-free travel and trade) and not accept 1,000 or 2,000 refugees as...