Migrant dies after violent clashes with police at Greece-Macedonia border

According to the United Nations, almost 900,000 refugees have landed in Europe via the Mediterranean from Africa and Asia this year.

A girl waves to a group of photographers behind a auto window after her arrival on a vessel, with other refugees and migrants from the Turkish coast to the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015.

The latest developments as tens of thousands of people make their way to Europe and across the continent, seeking safety and a better life.

Greece has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to benefit from material support to help cope with the influx of refugees and asylum seekers in the country, the European Commission (EC) said on December 3.

Greece, the main European Union entry point for Middle Eastern refugees, has resisted outsourcing its border management to an EU-flagged force and has been accused by countries such as Hungary of opening the gates to migrants.

On Wednesday, several hundred people blocked the crossing shouting: “If we don’t cross, no one does!”; while on Thursday, empty barrels and pieces of wood and metal were used to create a 120 metre-long barrier along the border.

Some central European officials, most prominently Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, have suggested excluding Greece from Schengen.

The classification of refugees on the basis of nationalities is unacceptable, Greek Deputy Minister for Migration Policy Yannis Mouzalas stressed in statements to Greek media. Police distributed fliers warning the economic migrants that they must leave the border area within three days, and the government implied it would take more drastic action if necessary.

Many migrants try to travel onwards to northern Europe through the Balkans, where countries have put up fences and reinstated border controls.

The man died after climbing onto the roof of a train carriage and touching a high-voltage overhead cable, local police said.

Scuffles have broken out between migrants and refugees at Greece’s northern border with Macedonia, after hundreds of people blockaded the crossing in protest because they were not being allowed to cross the border.

Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki welcomed the decision, saying it will help defuse tensions at his country’s border with Greece.

Friday’s meeting may lead to an assessment of Greece’s border controls.

Greece’s financially-strapped government says it has spent about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) addressing the migrant crisis and only received 30 million euros in European Union aid.