N. Mitarakis: Greece will continue to prevent illegal entry into the country

Greece will continue to guard its borders and prevent illegal entry into the EU’s maritime and land territories, stressed the Minister of Immigration & Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, answering a topical question of the MP of MERA25, Kritonas Arsenis on the subject: abandonment of asylum seekers on the islands of Evros “.

The protection of borders “is our constitutional obligation” said Mr. Mitarakis, noting that, compared to the era of “open seas”, the government’s policy “protects human lives”. He even referred to data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which “show that in 2021 we had much fewer human losses, by six weeks, compared to 2015-16”. This is International Law and this is what our country applies, said Mr. Mitarakis.

For his part, Mr. Arsenis asked how the illegal deportations may not exist for the government but may cause the resignation of the director of FRONTEX. He also stated that according to the first results of an investigation by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), FRONTEX is involved in 222 operations of the Coast Guard (3 / 2020-4 / 2021) that led to the deportation of one thousand to eight and a half thousand refugees. The issue is not whether there are illegal deportations but whether the order is given by Mr. Mitarakis or Mr. Mitsotakis, said the MP of MERA25.

Addressing “those who indiscriminately adopt and reproduce complaints of NGOs and journalistic organizations, serving a specific narrative, that of the so-called” puss backs “, Mr. Mitarakis reminded that” these issues were examined by the organization itself, but also by a special audit committee of the European Parliament, without confirming the validity of any of these complaints, and without finding anything against FRONTEX “.

The OLAF report, added Mr. Mitarakis, has not yet been presented to the European Parliament. “It is something that, ND asked yesterday at the meeting held in the EP, to be done. I remind you that 22 EU member states voted yesterday, in the FRONTEX Board of Directors, any administrative measure against the former executive director, Mr. “Laser”, pointed out the Minister of Immigration and Asylum.

Regarding the complaints of news organizations, which were made in October 2021, and “for which I pledged to the European Commissioner that they will be examined”, Mr. Mitarakis said that “the National Transparency Authority has been addressed [..] “It came to its conclusion on March 24 and concluded that there was insufficient documentation of repatriation actions,” said Mr. Mitarakis, adding: “A few days ago, Mr. Mitarakis continued,” the French political institute Thomas More reminded that journalistic investigations are based on material provided by Turkey or obtained from people in Turkey. on the reaction of the foreign minister of her neighbor, M. Tsavousoglou remarked that “Turkey celebrates the changes in FRONTEX, ignores its obligations from the Joint Declaration of Europe-Turkey 2016 and chooses to forget what was happening in Evros, when it tried to instrumentalize the immigrant “.

In the report of Mr. Arsenis on the lawsuit of the NGO Sea-Watch against FRONTEX, in the EU court (October 2021), for a case in the Aegean, he reminded that it concerns 2017, with the SYRIZA government: “Now, the NGO itself starts a new case against FRONTEX, not for deportations, but because the Libyan Navy is blocking boats from leaving Libya! The policy of these NGOs, Europe does not make sense to have borders and borders, it makes sense that millions of people will come to Europe every month, but that is not what international law is, of Geneva “, said Mr. Mitarakis.

Mr. Mitarakis also informed the Parliament that the EU Court, on April 7, rejected another appeal against FRONTEX, for a case concerning the Aegean. “So the decisions of the courts and the Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU are not in line with what you are saying today,” said Mr. Mitarakis.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ