The collection of migrants arriving in Greece has dropped considerably over the past two years, in step with the rustic’s migration minister.
Speaking at an match celebrating the release of his ministry on Tuesday, Notis Mitarachi mentioned the migration insurance policies of Greece’s right-wing govt had been in the back of the autumn, together with higher border safety, sooner asylum procedures and a tightening of migration regulations.
Greece has been extensively accused of expelling folks once they succeed in Greek soil, with out letting them practice for asylum, in a tradition referred to as pushbacks.
Pushbacks are unlawful beneath global legislation, with many migrants and rights teams claiming they steadily contain top levels of violence and power — one thing Greece denies.
The collection of asylum-seekers dwelling within the southern European nation has additionally fallen, in step with Mitarachi.
He mentioned that Greece noticed the bottom collection of arrivals in a decade in 2021, placing the determine at beneath 9,000 folks.
At the peak of the Greek migration disaster, loads of hundreds of folks arrived on Greek islands or crossed the land border with Turkey, in what used to be the biggest inflow of refugees to Europe since World War Two.
The overwhelming majority of those folks sought after to move onward to wealthier European international locations, such UK, France and Germany.
“After the explosion in the period 2015-2019, in 2021 we had the lowest flows of the decade, 8,745, and steadily low in 2022 too” Mitarachi mentioned. “The result is that instead of 92,000 asylum seekers living in 121 facilities, we have today 14,000 in 33 facilities.”
The UN’s refugee company has moderately other figures, list a complete of 9,157 arrivals in Greece in 2021, with more or less part coming from the ocean and the opposite part throughout land.
For 2022, the UNCHR administrative center’s figures display a complete of 18,778 new arrivals in Greece: 12,756 via sea and six,022 via land.
In 2015, Mitarachi mentioned, arrivals in Greece accounted for 75% of the whole collection of abnormal arrivals within the European Union, whilst in 2022 that determine stood at simply 5%.
He added that Greece used to be additionally amending law to draw employees thru criminal migration for employment.
“The migration issue doesn’t end. And it is at the same time a challenge and a need. Our country is implementing a strict but fair migration policy,” he mentioned.
“With an emphasis on migration with rules, criteria, agreements, in accordance with our needs. But we stand firmly against smuggling rings and illegal migration.”
Greece has been accused via rights teams of pushing migrants again around the huge, fast-flowing river that separates the rustic from Turkey.
Migrants have reportedly been left on small islands throughout the river in appalling stipulations.
Greek officers strenuously deny this happens.
