The Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Mr. Notis Mitarakis participated, as a keynote speaker, in a discussion on “The Global Displacement: Beyond Humanitarianism”, within the Doha Forum 2022 that takes place March 26-27 in Qatar.
The panel was also attended by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and Vital Voices President Alyse Nelson. The discussion was moderated by Wilson Center Director and CEO Mark Green.
In his speech, Mr. Mitarakis referred extensively to the crisis in Ukraine, emphasizing that “I am proud as a member of the Council that we voted on March 4 to activate Directive 55 of 2001, which has never been used before. It allows its citizens Ukraine, their families and recognized refugees in Ukraine to arrive, without a visa, in any country of the European Union, which is automatically granted a 12-month work permit, which will probably be renewed for another 12 months, with access to housing, food, if necessary, and in the labor market, of course, access to medical care. ”
Regarding the need to create a common protection area in the EU for refugees, Mr. Mitarakis pointed out that “we have abolished the internal borders within the EU. Borders created 30 years ago by the Dublin Regulation and prevented refugees from moving from one “I raised this issue in the European Parliament a year ago, saying that Europe must be able to provide a common area of protection for refugees within the EU.”
Regarding Greece’s contribution to the management of the migration crisis, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum stressed that “Greece has received more than 1 million refugees from Syria and Afghanistan since 2015. Therefore, we are well aware of the pressure from the refugee crisis. . ”
Then, Mr. Mitarakis pointed out that “in the last seven years, we have invested, through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration, 1 billion euros for the protection of people who passed through our country during this period of time. ”
Asked about the causes of migration, Mr Mitarakis said: “People are leaving the country because of war or being pushed by authoritarian regimes. We have to remember what happened to Belarus. The case of Belarus v. Lithuania, the “Latvia and Poland show that sometimes authoritarian regimes use people to gain geopolitical benefits.”
He added: “Europe needs to do more to tackle other causes of migration. I’m talking about climate change, the need to support economic growth in countries of origin and transit, and I think we need to do a lot more there.”
Concluding his speech, Mr. Mitarakis stressed the need for common solutions at EU level, adding that “we can not expect individual countries to face global problems.”
“When people come and seek refuge in Europe and are recognized in Europe as refugees, then they have all the tools to start their lives over,” he concluded.
Source: Capital
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