LESBOS, Greece — Three mayors on the islands of Lesvbos, Chios and Samos called on the European Union on Thursday to amend the proposal for the new migration pact, saying "it unduly burdens front-line countries, damaging their national interests and creating gray zones in the eastern borders of the EU."

"It is entirely acknowledged by all that no single EU country can effectively handle migration and asylum by itself, but this requires a joint and decisive policy, based on the principles of solidarity and the fair distribution of responsibilities among countries, with an emphasis on guarding Europe's external borders and averting migration flows," the mayors of Mitilini (Stratis Kitelis), Chios (Stamatis Karmandzis) and East Samos (Giorgos Standzos) said.

The current proposal, said the three North Aegean Region officials, "undermines the current European institutional framework in terms of solidarity, protecting our borders and in the role of NGOs," and they called on the government to vote it down, in favor of practical European solidarity.

The residents of their islands will "remain on alert until the full revocation of all regulations of the new proposal that harm our lives," they warned.