By Penelope Galliou

Today, the prime minister is going to the rural Evros, which is one of the three districts in which he is a candidate for the upcoming elections. Kyriakos Mitsotakis accompanied by the Minister of Citizen Protection, Takis Theodorikakos and the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Noti Mitarakisin order to attend and speak at the event for the signing of the contract for the construction – extension of the fence and accompanying works, along the Greek-Turkish border in Evros.

A project that is a commitment by the government to strengthen the country’s borders and shield it from migration flows, while it is one of the most effective means of preventing migration flows into Greek territory, as was demonstrated during the hybrid attack launched by Turkey in March 2020, pushing tens of thousands of migrants to the land border with Greece.

The tone of the visit to the Evros and the importance of the fence for Greece’s border security was set by the prime minister himself during his visit to Gerakasin the midst of the new confrontation that broke out with SYRIZA, after the MEP’s stance Dimitris Papapdimoulis to be the rapporteur of the initiative in the European Parliament which attempts to block funding to expand the fence in Greece but also in other areas of the EU… “I want to remind who are those who supported it and who are still facing this difficult effort to secure the country’s borders.

Just yesterday a SYRIZA MEP supported an amendment asking Europe not to finance the Evros project. Listen up everyone, no boos needed. We just need a judgment and a right choice for the next day,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasized. He also spoke of undermining the government’s work, however declaring his determination “with or without European money, the fence on the Evros will be finished”.

Dimitris Papadimoulis argued, however, that this is not his amendment but a common position in the European Parliament, calling on the government to stop “Fake News and anti-SYRIZA propaganda. The so-called “Papadimoulis amendment” is now the official position of the European Parliament and the half of the EPP also voted. It is included in a report that was approved with 28 in favor, 2 against and 2 abstentions. That is, it was also voted by the EPP! “said the SYRIZA MEP in a post on Twitter.

An opinion that provoked the reaction of the government representative who recalled that Dimitris Tzanakopoulos had also described the fence on the Evros as illegal and stressed that SYRIZA seeks to return the country to the policy of open borders. “The intention of the opposition is clear to return the country to the refugee and immigration situation in the days of chaos we lived in during their days” commented Mr. Economou.

Giorgos Katoryggalos also returned the points to the government, noting that border protection is a self-evident function of every state, but added that “it should not be confused with the equally self-evident obligation to respect international legality, humanitarian law and the treaty of Geneva. Whatever the use of the fence in certain parts of the Evros, no one except Mr. Mitsotakis and Ms. Meloni believes that it is a solution for the refugee/immigrant issue,” he said.

Dimitris Papadimoulis, however, on his official website has posted a press release in which it is stated that he was the proposer of the amendment with the aim of blocking the country’s funding from the EU. In particular, it refers to “Clear and clear position against the effort of certain European governments, including Greece, Italy and Austria, to use any EU funding to build external border fences”.

At the same time, it is announced that “The compromise amendment was submitted as the coordinator of the Eurogroup of the Left in the Committee on Budgets (BUDG), the Vice-President of the European Parliament and head of the Eurogroup of SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance, Dimitris Papadimoulis, together with the shadow rapporteurs of the Socialists, of the Greens and Macron’s Political Group Renew Europe”.

Through his television the Minister of Citizen Protection, Takis Theodorikakos requested the dismissal of Mr. Papadimoulis from SYRIZA, stating that if this is not done, it means that SYRIZA “adopts this position, so SYRIZA leaves the borders of the country unprotected again”. And the Minister of Immigration, Notis Mitarakis, with his post on social media, launched an attack against Mr. Papadimoulis as well as Mr. Tsipras, saying that “they want Greece to be a vine!” and that the people on May 21 will give them the right answer.

The extension of the fence to the Evros River was decided last August by the Governmental National Security Council (GNC) in light of the growing pressure for illegal entry into our country from both our land and sea borders and as a first move to shield the border line in Evros. Under these circumstances, it was decided to gradually extend the fence along the entire length of the river, with priority at disputed points as determined by the relevant Ministries and the GEETHA.

The government’s goal is to extend the fence by 80 kilometers, while the fence that has already been built is approximately 40 kilometers long and will reach a total of 120 kilometers, out of a total of 180 kilometers of land borders. That is, 2/3 of the land border between Greece and Turkey will be covered by the fence.

Also, at the same meeting of the KYSEA, it was decided to upgrade and strengthen the means of surveillance. The further armoring of the border guarding and surveillance mechanisms, with an emphasis (and) on the bed of the river Evros, are part of an overall strategy aimed at definitively preventing instrumentalization of migration on the part of Ankara, as underlined by government sources before the meeting.

The prime minister will visit Orestiada, Didymoteicho and Soufli in the morning.