Greece urged the European Union for extra assist with migration on Saturday, as Athens expands its sprawling border fence with Turkey.
Chatting with EU ambassadors, plus these from the UK and Switzerland, Residents’ Safety Minister Takis Theodorikakos referred to as for further monetary and logistical assist, declaring Greece's border was additionally the bloc's exterior border.
Greece prevented round 260,000 migrants from getting into illegally in 2022 and arrested 1,500 traffickers, an official mentioned on Saturday.
Athens is extensively accused of expelling folks as quickly as they attain Greek soil in a observe generally known as pushbacks. They are unlawful underneath worldwide legislation -- stopping refugees from searching for safety -- and sometimes contain excessive levels of violence and power.
“The duty [of protecting the border] wants the assist ... of European public opinion, the European Union itself and its constituent members individually,” Theodorikakos mentioned. “It's our steadfast place that member states of first reception can't be (the migrants’) solely European locations.
"There have to be solidarity amongst member-states and a good sharing of duties...shut coordination is a should,” he added.
Greek officers have lengthy complained that migration administration has been outsourced onto their nation by richer European states, with most migrants desirous to go to UK, France and Germany, however prevented from doing so.
“Our precedence is to guard the human life and dignity endangered by the prison trafficking networks ... although we're not an EU member, we're carefully cooperating,” mentioned UK Ambassador Matthew Lodge.
Greece has erected a five-metre metal border wall, separating it from Turkey throughout the Evros River.
It at present snakes greater than 27 kilometres, although Athens is increasing the wall by an additional 35 kilometres, with the final word objective of extending it to cowl many of the 192-kilometre frontier.
Greece accuses Turkey of weaponising migrants by encouraging them to cross the border to stress Athens and Brussels.
Ankara, house to five million migrants, in return accuses Greece of violent pushbacks that endanger the lives of migrants.
The EU’s border safety company, Frontex, will add one other 400 border guards in Greece — 250 of them in February — to the present 1,800-member power, Theodorikakos mentioned.
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