Greece has pushed back at a Belgian proposal that Athens should set up camps for hundreds of thousands of migrants on its soil, amid concerns that the country could be swamped by people barred from travelling onwards to northern Europe.
Greece has been the main gateway for migrants and asylum seekers hoping to start a new life in Europe.
Athens has been criticised for letting people move through its territory largely unchecked, even though it is supposed to police its border with Turkey.
On Monday, Belgian State Secretary for Migration Theo Francken said Greece should organise shelter for up to 300,000 people "in major refugee camps" along the coast.
But deputy Immigration Minister Ioannis Mouzalas said in an interview on Tuesday with radio station Skai that Greece was "in a difficult situation".
He said Belgium had also told Athens to push back migrants, but added: "That is illegal."
Countries were "panicking" over the large number of arrivals, Mouzalas said.
On Monday, EU interior ministers asked the European Commission to prepare the basis for countries to extend national border controls for up to two years within the Schengen free-travel area, since measures to curb the migration flow have had little effect.
The Schengen border-free zone allows people to move around freely through 26 European countries, normally without the need for passports or identity checks.
But five countries, including Germany, Austria and Sweden, have reintroduced temporary border controls to better manage the migration flows.
Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud said on Tuesday that there could be grounds to maintain border checks within Schengen "as long as the external borders are not effectively controlled".
But Greeks are increasingly worried that their country will become isolated by the rest of Europe to serve as a buffer for people stranded there, Athens daily Kathimerini said.
Media on Tuesday mostly carried angry reactions to pressure from the EU because of Greece's inability to stop the surge of people arriving across the Aegean Sea.
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