The Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, held yesterday, on the sidelines of the Justice and Home Affairs Council of the European Union in Brussels, a series of bilateral contacts with his counterparts from Bulgaria, Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
During the meetings, the Minister focused on Greece's priorities in migration, emphasizing:
- In guarding the external borders of the European Union and the need to strengthen common protection mechanisms.
- Actively preventing illegal migration flows, as a key tool for effectively managing pressures on member states.
- Intensifying returns by taking advantage of the mutual recognition of return decisions, within the framework of the new Return Regulation under negotiation.
- Support for the creation of “return hubs” outside the European continent, with the aim of more effective implementation of return procedures through collaborations with third countries.
- In exploring alternative routes for the return of Afghan nationals to Kabul, with particular emphasis on those who have committed criminal offenses, in the context of the need to ensure public order and security.
- In promoting a European "clean slate" plan for old Dublin cases, which will relieve Greece of the chronic burden of the possible return of individuals who are currently in other member states, but for whom the country was until recently responsible for examining asylum applications.
The Minister stressed that Greece strongly supports a common, coherent and effective European migration policy, which will be based on solidarity, but also on the necessary balance with the responsibility of the frontline Member States. At the same time, he underlined the need for a rapid conclusion of the ongoing negotiations in order to ensure that the new European architecture responds to the real challenges.