Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called on the European Union to further tighten its migration policy by introducing an “emergency regime” for cases of mass migratory pressure, such as the recent events at the Spanish exclave of Ceuta.
He cited as additional examples the mass influx of migrants from Turkey in Evros in 2020, and similar events in Lithuania, Poland and Latvia at their borders with Belarus in 2021.
Among the measures proposed by the Greek prime minister are a temporary suspension of asylum applications, a fast-track return of new arrivals, along with immediate financial and technical assistance from the EU.
Mitsotakis said the recently approved EU Pact on Migration and Asylum is not enough, as these tools are designed “for situations that remain, at their core, manageable.”
“Recent events at Europe’s borders, most notably in the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, are the latest reminder that migration is no longer just a humanitarian issue or management challenge. In some cases, it has become a tool of geopolitical coercion,” he said in an opinion piece published by Politico on Tuesday, arguing that, in such circumstances, the full application of standard asylum and reception systems for all arrivals “is not simply difficult — it is often impossible.”
