The elaboration of the bill of the Ministry of Immigration & Asylum “Ratification of the code of legislation for the reception, the international protection of third country nationals and stateless persons and the temporary protection in case of mass influx of displaced foreigners” was completed in the competent committee of the Parliament.
The bill was approved by a majority, with the positive votes of the ND MPs, the reservations from SYRIZA and PASOK-KINAL and the negative vote of KKE, EL.LY and MERA25 and tomorrow it is expected to be discussed and voted by the Plenary.
Closing the discussion, the Deputy Minister of Immigration & Asylum, Sofia Voultepsi, spoke of “significant legislative intervention” in order, as she stressed, “to enable Greece to face the new challenges in a world that is changing rapidly and which do not only concern crisis in Ukraine, but also the climate and food crisis “.
Responding to the opposition’s objections that the new law does not solve the refugee and immigration problem, Ms. Voultepsi countered that the codification of the legislation is a useful tool in view of the negotiations in the EU for the New Immigration Pact.
“Obviously the problem will not be solved, nor is there a solution in anyone’s pocket because the crises are still ahead of us, however it is necessary for Greece to proceed with the protection of its borders. Regardless of what Mr. Erdogan or the European Union does “And we must safeguard our borders. And it is obvious that the issue of refugees and immigrants has two complementary sides, and that is the guarding of the country’s borders and the provision of assistance to those in Greece,” she said.
“It does not matter whether or not we accept the EU shield, but whether we can guard our own borders. We can not accommodate an infinite number of people nor can Greece become a center of transit. Our answer is, I guard my borders regardless of What is the EU doing? I also have a problem with the EU. For the first time it has not disbursed money from the European Community fund while it is still discussing it, but I can not do anything until Europe decides. There is a specific issue here. neither legal nor moral or legal nor does it serve national interests or non-application of international treaties “.
Mrs. Voultepsi emphasized the issue of the integration of refugees and immigrants, emphasizing that “in order to become a reality, they must also learn Greek and work in the country”. “We do not want them to be ghettoized and offer nothing to the country. We want those who are legal and meet the conditions to remain fully integrated into Greek society,” he said.
Finally, regarding the Ukrainian refugees, Ms. Voultepsi said that “relatively few, mainly women and children, have chosen to stay temporarily in our country while the Greek State is mainly responsible for supervising their hospital care and education.
For his part, the general rapporteur of SYRIZA, George Psychogios, noted that “in principle the bill for the codification of legislation is positive”, however as he said, “there are mistakes and omissions while significantly reducing the number of refugees and immigrants who are entitled to protection “.
“It does not have a good effect on both the people here and the country. Move the structures out of the urban fabric without a plan. We must all mobilize on a national front,” he said, accusing the government of choosing to avoid sanctions. a substantive debate on its deadlocked policy.
PASOK-KINAL spokesman George Kaminis said that “in view of the developments in the negotiations in the EU for the new Immigration Pact, it is completely unusual for the government to announce the repeal of the law that will be passed.” As he claimed, “the government is circumventing the codification of the legislature by introducing new provisions” and stressed that there are shortcomings, ambiguities and inconsistencies in the bill, which in essence consolidates the proven deadlock policy of ND.
“It is necessary to codify the legislation, but when it comes to reactionary provisions for inhumane policies and negative developments, it is obvious that we are voting against,” said the KKE’s special spokeswoman, Maria Komninaka. “You are adopting a network of reactionary and anti-popular legislation, implementing EU policies that are paving the way for the instrumentalization and savage exploitation of those uprooted by capitalist politics,” he said.
The special speaker of the Hellenic Solution, Antonis Mylonakis, also opposed the bill, describing it as “Halima tales”, what the government supports about the effective treatment of the immigration and refugee problem. “The code is supposed to incorporate all the laws, but here the government is predicting new changes. It is supposedly talking about a cut in the protection of our borders, but without answering how many are entitled to asylum and how many are not. in our country illegally “, he supported and concluded:” It is another bill that is not focused on the Greek, a bill that does not offer anything to the Greeks “.
“We say no to a bill that does not ensure even the slightest of what is provided by EU law and the UN Charter on the Rights of Refugees and Immigrants,” said MEPA25 spokeswoman Maria Apatzidou. “It does not provide guarantees as they arise under international law. You are pursuing dubious policies, with excessive procedural barriers and barriers to asylum, extending asylum. The agreement with the EU is made in the wrong way, plan and logic, posing dangerous national dilemmas. for closed or open borders “, added Mrs. Apatzidou.
“Let’s go to a messy process”, said the SYRIZA MP, Dimitris Vitsas, while “for several failures, vague omissions but also untimely additions” spoke the MP of the same party, Giota Poulou.
The general rapporteur of ND, Savvas Chionidis, described the bill as “a cut for Greece as it holistically addresses the great gangrene of pluralism regarding the refugee and immigration problem”. As he said, “it is necessary to codify and update the scattered laws with targeted interventions on critical issues such as the protection of minors, displaced aliens, their temporary residence and their repatriation.”
Source: AMPE
Source: Capital
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
