ATHENS: Greece’s prime minister says Europe must be”very, very rigorous” when dealing with states he said are trying to utilize migrants and refugees as a way of pressuring the European Union. Talking Friday during a meeting in Athens with all the mind of the European boundary bureau Frontex,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called on neighboring Turkey to do more to stop people from trying to cross the Greek border independently from their beaches. Greece has been among the most well-known paths in the EU for individuals fleeing poverty and war from the Mideast, Africa and Asia, together with making their way by the Turkish coast to neighboring Greek islands at overcrowded smugglers’ ships. Back in March 2020, tens of thousands of migrants and refugees who were in Turkey hurried to the Greek border after Turkey announced it was launching its borders to the EU. Chaotic scenes followed around the Greek border, and Athens temporarily suspended asylum software. Similar scenes played out this week at Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, if over 8,000 people jumped or drifted over boundary fences following Morocco relaxed border controllers. “It’s inconceivable that migrants and refugees may be utilised as economic pawns to place stress in the European Union as a whole. And I believe we will need to become very, very rigorous when this occurs,” Mitsotakis stated after meeting Frontex main Fabrice Leggeri. Greece was enticed with Turkey and refugee classes of carrying out pushbacks – overview deportations of coming migrants without providing them the opportunity to apply for asylum – an accusation it firmly resisted. Mitsotakis also urged Turkey to take almost 1,500 individuals today on Greek shores whose asylum applications are refused, saying that will”be a crucial first step to improve our collaboration.”
Greece to EU: Do Not let Nations Utilize migrants as leverage
