Mitarakis to NATO: We publicly call on Turkey to prevent illegal departures from its shores

We publicly call on Turkey to prevent illegal departures from its shores, pointed out the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis speaking at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the work of the Special Group on the Mediterranean and the Middle East held in the Hellenic Parliament.

Speaking in the chamber of the Senate of the Parliament, Mr. Mitarakis noted that the North Atlantic Alliance has been alive for 73 years and in them one can identify the successes in maintaining the security of the member states and the world itself. As the Minister of Immigration and Asylum said, the main priorities regarding the management of the immigration issue were the reduction of arrivals in Greece but also the reduction of the effects of immigration on local communities.

Mr. Mitarakis then referred to attempts to instrumentalize the immigrant, while he noted that the smuggling networks that attempt to cross people from Turkey or Libya to Europe should be combated. “Facilitating the passage of people into a country with the aim of destabilizing it is something that is obviously not acceptable,” he said, while adding that Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine worsened the immigration situation. “We provide immediate access and temporary protection to all displaced Ukrainians. People coming directly to our countries, from a war zone,” he said.

“Where immigration becomes a geopolitical tool, then illegal immigration becomes a security issue, a form of hybrid threat. The Geneva Convention, the main instrument of international law on asylum, is fundamental to our legal systems”, clarified the Minister of Immigration and Asylum.

The position of Mr. Notis Mitarakis in detail

President, Dear Colleagues, Dear Allies,

It is our pleasure to welcome you to Athens, in the Hellenic Parliament, to discuss the challenges that NATO must face.

As the North Atlantic Treaty turns 73 this year,
we can look back on this organization’s success in keeping its Members and the World safe.

To deal with threats.
And the further expansion of the alliance with Sweden and Finland, an expansion that we obviously wholeheartedly support, and which will further strengthen our ability to deal with the ever-changing external security environment.

My intervention will focus on the security challenges posed by migration.

My domestic role priorities are:
to reduce the level of illegal arrivals in Greece and to mitigate the effects of the migration crisis on local communities.

Furthermore, as a member of the Council of the European Union, I am working with my colleagues in the EU to strengthen our common strategy as we shape a new Pact on Migration and Asylum.

Obviously, the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine dominates the agenda.

Although it is not the only significant threat we have faced in our wider area.

Before the Russian invasion, Europe, and in particular, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, faced a blatant attempt to instrumentalize immigration from Belarus.

An attempt that failed, an attempt that led to full support from the European Union to the affected Member States.

Where immigration becomes a geopolitical tool, then illegal immigration becomes a security issue, a form of hybrid threat.

The Geneva Convention, the main instrument of international asylum law,
it is fundamental to our legal systems.
Its aim is to provide shelter to people defined in the convention, who come directly from dangerous areas.
Making it easier for people to come to a transit country, where they enjoy safety, with the aim of promoting such people to neighboring countries in order to destabilize them, is obviously not acceptable.

And this is what Belarus tried to do, and we have faced similar attempts. Obviously, when the Russian invasion of Ukraine took place, we provided immediate access and temporary protection to all displaced Ukrainians.
People coming directly to our countries, from a war zone.
Russia’s invasion has caused the world’s fastest and largest displacement of civilians in decades, according to the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “Approximately 14 million people were forced to leave their homes,” Filippo Grandi said.

NATO’s response was immediate to Russia’s unprecedented move to attack a European country at this time.
We supported Ukraine in all possible ways.
The crisis solidified our alliance.

Colleagues,
Immigration is increasing in the meditation area as evidenced by data provided by FRONTEX.

Countries are looking for ways to better protect their borders, work more closely with first host and transit countries,
to better cooperate for the dignified return of those not entitled to protection.

In 2021 I visited Ankara, where my esteemed colleague, Mr. Süleyman Soylu,
presented Turkey’s efforts to better secure its eastern borders.

Human traffickers, for huge financial benefits, move people from country to country, aiming to reach central Europe.
We must all protect our borders on both sides, and strengthen our bilateral and multilateral cooperation to tackle smuggling networks.

Better cooperation is needed within the Alliance, but also with neighboring countries, to better address this common challenge.

Mitigating the root causes of migration.
Addressing regional instability.

Europe can also do more to relocate people in need, in a coordinated way. As well as providing legal avenues for economic migration.
Greece will participate in such efforts.
Greece has shown our active support in the case of Afghanistan, immediately after the regime change,
offering humanitarian visas to female officials and their families.

We are also entering into bilateral legal migration agreements, starting with Bangladesh.

At the same time, Greece protects its borders every day. Reducing flows by over a million in 2015, from 72 thousand in 2019 to 8500 in 2021
and about 15 thousand in 2022.

We have invested significantly in improving our asylum provision.
Today, 34 Reception Centers operate,

We build newer structures that meet the strict standards of the European Union.

Having reduced the asylum backlog from 200,000 applications to 25,000 today.

We have placed special emphasis on the protection of unaccompanied minors.

This is a strategic priority for us, and we have worked successfully with our partners in the European Union on the issue of relocations.

We actively invest in integration programs, offering full access to health, education and employment to all recognized refugees

We do our duty.

Most importantly, we are protecting human lives at our borders.

The policy of guarding the borders
she is the one who saves lives, especially in the seas.

While the policy in 2015-2016 resulted in 1,500 people losing their lives.
.
As a result, lives are lost at sea for those trying, either from Libya or from Turkey, to reach Italy.

Or to reach Cyprus, which currently hosts the largest percentage of asylum seekers compared to its population.

Let me remind you that Greece, Italy, Spain, Malta and Cyprus
have formed the MED5 group to coordinate their actions in the field of migration.

Greece’s successful handling of the migrant crisis attracts criticism from those who, for ideological or economic reasons, support an open border policy.

We must put an end to this situation.

Especially within the Alliance.
We must all play a constructive role and adjust our rhetoric accordingly.

We have made a public appeal to the Turkish authorities to prevent further illegal departures from its shores.

One would expect two NATO countries, whatever their differences, to be able to agree to prevent these dangerous journeys.

Greece will continue to protect its borders, with full respect for human rights.
And he will work constructively to improve cooperation, strengthening our alliance.

In this spirit we must involve/include all the countries in the region, and provide support to the countries most affected.”

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