Greece admits migration delays but EU not blameless: minister

Under pressure from European partners to better manage a huge influx of migrants, Greece on Thursday admitted delays in its response but said EU promises had also not been carried out in full.

Junior interior minister for migration Yiannis Mouzalas admitted "delays and failings" as he called on the European Union to activate a crisis mechanism for migrant aid.

Athens has sent Brussels a list of needs for "ambulances, trucks, fuel containers, tents and blankets," Mouzalas told reporters.

The full list includes 100,000 first aid kits, raincoats and sleeping bags, 80,000 blankets, 1,500 tents, a thousand beds, 800 heated containers for accommodation, a hundred portable toilets, fifty portable showers, 26 ambulances, 20 buses, six water pumps and four generators.

Mouzalas said the request had not been made earlier because Greece's exact requirements had not been finalised.

"We hope our partners will offer generously, given the present grumbling" directed against Greece, Mouzalas said.

The minister admitted registration centres on Greek islands, known as hotspots, could have been delivered faster.

But he noted that the EU had failed to respond to a Greek request for an additional 1,600 police officers.

EU border agency Frontex on Thursday said it would expand its activities to the Greek border with Macedonia next week "to assist with registration".

"A joint field visit conducted by the Greek authorities and Frontex will take place as soon as possible in order to work out the technical details of the deployment," the agency said from its Warsaw offices.

In October, Frontex called on member states to provide 775 border guards for its activities, with 600 to be deployed in Greece. Member states have so far offered 447 officers, the agency said.

Frontex said it had 195 officers on the Aegean islands most affected by migration flows, including over 80 on Lesbos.

Mouzalas also observed that European states had only accepted to relocate 295 refugees from Greece, compared to a pledge of 66,400 people over two years.

- Pressure after Paris attacks -

Pressure on Greece to step up border vigilance amid an unprecedented influx of refugees and migrants to Europe this year has increased after the November 13 jihadist attacks in Paris.

At least two of the Paris attackers were confirmed to have passed registration on the Greek island of Leros in October, posing as refugees.

Mouzalas a day earlier had denied suggestions that its place in the EU's passport-free Schengen zone was in jeopardy because of failings in its handling of the migrant crisis.

Several European sources in Brussels also denied that Athens had received any Schengen threats from the EU institutions, while admitting that some capitals were less than happy.

The Financial Times had reported on Wednesday that several European ministers and senior EU officials believe threatening suspension from the Schengen zone could persuade Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to "deliver on his promises and take up EU offers of help".

Mouzalas said certain EU countries were "falsely" accusing Athens over shortcomings shared by the bloc as a whole, such as delays in repatriating economic migrants.

On Thursday he said Hungary was among those states. Slovakia, which is now challenging EU migrant quotas, has also publicly clashed with Greece over border protection.

Greek authorities insist that in the absence of forewarning from other European agencies, it is almost impossible to detect whether extremists are hidden among the refugee influx.

Athens also notes that most of the Paris attackers, who were French and Belgian nationals, were also able to evade detection elsewhere in Europe.