Refugees and migrants arrive on November 24, 2015 on the Greek island of Lesbos after they crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey. | BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Greece hits out at ‘distorted’ migration claims Brussels is frustrated by Greek reluctance to take action on refugees.

Reports that Greece could be kicked out of the Schengen zone for mishandling the migration crisis are untrue, the government said Wednesday.

In response to stories saying that Greece has until mid-December to improve its handling of the crisis or risk losing passport-free travel rights in the EU, government spokesperson Olga Gerovasili said that Greece being suspended from Schengen "has never been raised in the EU framework. However, untrue reports on this are being reproduced, in an effort to blame Greece for mismanaging the refugee and migratory flows."

She defended Greece's efforts to tackle the flow of migrants, saying that the country was "implementing, despite great difficulties, its European obligations ... setting up hotspots, building accommodation centers and exercising effective border management."

The threat to suspend Greece's membership of the open-borders Schengen agreement has been conveyed repeatedly to Athens, according to a report in the Financial Times Wednesday, which cited unnamed EU ministers and officials. It said the latest warning came this week from Jean Asselborn, foreign minister of Luxembourg, which currently holds the EU’s presidency.

Brussels is frustrated by Athens' reluctance to accept humanitarian aid for border areas where there is an influx of migrants, and to improve its registration system for refugees.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said last week that "we just cannot put up with a member country that has openly given up on safeguarding the Schengen area borders."

Foreign ministry spokesperson Konstantinos Koutras made it clear Wednesday that Fico was out of order. “The Prime Minister of Slovakia, possibly because he comes from a country that has neither sea nor islands, cannot correctly evaluate all of the parameters and peculiarities of guarding maritime borders, all the more so when these borders are being flooded with thousands of needy people who are escaping from the hell of war," he told reporters.

"We extend an open invitation to Mr. Fico, before he renews his search for a scapegoat, to visit one of the Aegean islands to examine the situation on the ground, be briefed by the competent authorities, and form a personal opinion on this issue.”

A senior EU official told POLITICO that Slovenia, Croatia, Germany and Austria have increased the pressure on Greece by hinting that it could be evicted from Schengen. All four have been heavily affected by this year's migration crisis, either as transit or destination countries. Other countries, such as Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, are also very frustrated by the lack of progress in Greece, the diplomat added.

But Gerovasili hit back on Wednesday, saying: "Unfortunately, European circles insist on distorting reality and keep believing that Europe’s future can be built on phobic reflexes, fences and exclusion. These same circles have been promoting during the last days this hostile environment towards Greece by unacceptably threating the country with exiting the Schengen Treaty. And unfortunately, some in Greece uncritically adopt these approaches. "

The Greeks have complained that they are overwhelmed by the refugee crisis but in order for Europe to contribute, Athens must ask for help, something it has been reluctant to do so far and that is why some countries are losing patience, the senior EU official explained. However, there have been signs Wednesday that the Greece is changing its stance and has discussed the deployment of a task force, the appointment of officials in charge for the islands most affected and the strengthening of its external border.

The Luxembourg presidency has prepared a document for Friday’s meeting of interior ministers in Brussels. The possibility of an EU country being pushed out of Schengen is vaguely hinted at but diplomats are moving very carefully since this would be the first time that a country has been ejected since the agreement was signed in 1985, the diplomat stressed.

The interior ministers are expected to reiterate that Greece must do more ahead of an EU leaders' summit in mid-December.

Ministers will also discuss the implementation of "hotspots" — EU-run reception centers for refugees — in Greece and Italy. Despite a November 30 deadline, only one hotspot has been established in each of the two countries.

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