The Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, participated in the work of MED5, which took place in Valletta, Malta, along with his counterparts from Malta, Italy, Spain and Cyprus. The European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Magnus Brunner, as well as representatives from the Danish Presidency, also participated in the discussion.
The Minister sent a clear message to European partners: "The Med5 countries know better than anyone what it means to be on the front lines of migratory pressures. Europe must listen to us. Real solidarity cannot be limited to financial tools, returns and greater border protection are required."
He also underlined the important role of effective returns, in conjunction with border protection, for a functional asylum system.
in response to a question regarding the alleged push backs at the European borders, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, taking the floor, responded that "our job is to protect the Greek borders, which also happen to be European, and to protect the security of Greek and European citizens, and we will continue to do so."