“We are in favor of a more open immigration policy and we are working with a number of countries to open legal corridors in Europe, not through traffickers, but through visa programs,” said Notis Mitarakis, Minister of Immigration and Asylum, speaking at the 7th Economic Forum. Delphi.
Asked about the allegations against Greece for illegal repatriations, the Minister of Immigration stated that “the prevention of illegal entry is an obligation under the Schengen Agreement. We protect our borders and do not allow illegal entry into Greece and the EU”. Several of the complaints, he noted, “have very weak evidence” or “no evidence at all”.
Regarding the debate held at the European Union level on Immigration, Mr. Mitarakis stated that “there is a strong ideological debate in the EU between the rational and the European Left”. He continued: “We are talking about strict policies, on the one hand, and a Europe that will open its doors to people who are really in need but fighting the smuggling ring. There are others who believe that Europe should not have borders, to have millions of arrivals “.
Commenting on the Commission’s decision to grant temporary protection to refugees from Ukraine after the Russian invasion, the Immigration Minister stressed that the EU “has taken a historic decision on the automatic recognition of those leaving Ukraine as refugees” and added: “The second “Historically, we have repealed the Dublin Regulation on the arrival of Ukrainians. Officially, the EU has no internal borders for people coming from Ukraine.”
Referring to the role of Frontex and the protection of the EU borders, Mr. Mitarakis stressed that “Frontex is a security force, not an NGO, not a refugee reception committee. It is there to protect the borders.”
For his part, the head of Frontex, Fabrice Lazeri, spoke about the dangers on the Ukrainian border and the actions of traffickers and described that “what we see so far are people who are near the refugee centers, where there are many women and children, and try to trap the vulnerable. ” He added that “many of those who leave Ukraine do not know that they have rights in the European Union.”
Source: Capital
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