Greece said on Nov. 22 it’s deploying more border guards to “shut the door” to migrants not entitled to stay, the latest sign of a hardening stance against asylum-seekers since a new surge in the number of arrivals.
“The European Union views Greece as ‘convenient parking for refugees and migrants,’” Mitsotakis said.
In the interview, Mitsotakis blamed those Eastern European EU members that refused to take their share of refugees and migrants from Greece and Italy.
Turkey uses refugees and migrants as an argument in bargaining with the European Union, said Mitsotakis.
The Greek island of Lesbos, as well as some others, are the main destination for migrants. They’re also natural barriers preventing migrants from crossing to Europe’s mainland.
Migrant and refugee arrivals from neighboring Turkey have risen again, and more than 37,000 people are crammed into facilities on Greek islands that operate far beyond their capacity.
The agency reported that “there are now more than 96,500 refugees and migrants in Greece, according to the U.N.’s refugee agency, UNHCR.”
![Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis delivers a speech during the 4th EU–Arab World Summit in Athens on Oct. 29, 2019. (Costas Baltas/Reuters/File Photo)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F11%2F23%2F2019-11-22T132305Z_1_LYNXMPEFAL14J_RTROPTP_4_EUROPE-MIGRANTS-GREECE-600x400.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
To alleviate the situation, the Greek government, which took office in July, enacted a new asylum law in October that will accelerate processing asylum requests as well as return to Turkey those whose who are denied asylum. The basis of returning refugees to Turkey is the 2016 EU–Turkey deal.
The main purpose of the EU–Turkey deal was to prevent migrants from crossing from Turkey and to reduce human trafficking. The deal was partially successful as the influx of migrants entering European countries dropped in the beginning. However, Greece was able to send to Turkey only a small number of its refugees.
On Nov. 20, the Greek government announced plans to shut overcrowded refugee camps on islands and replace them with more restrictive holding centers. Among them is Moria refugee camp on Lesbos that was built to accommodate about 3,000 people, but now as many as 15,000 people live there, according to EuroNews.
According to the Greek government, the majority of refugees arriving in Greece are economic migrants, while the UNHCR claims that “85 percent of people arriving are from Afghanistan, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, or other countries experiencing violent conflict,” according to The New Humanitarian.
“Welcome in Greece are only those we choose. Those who are not welcomed will be returned,” Mitsotakis said. “We will permanently shut the door to illegal human traffickers, to those who want to enter although they are not entitled to asylum.”
The government wants to move up to 20,000 people to the mainland by the end of the year and expects that new facilities will be ready by July 2020.
People detained there won’t have the freedom to exit the facilities, they said, while nongovernmental organizations will have no access inside.