On his show 100.3 “One from the South, two from Chios” with Noti Papadopoulos and Vasilis Chiotisthe Minister of Citizen Protection spoke, Takis Theodorikakos and referred to the construction of the fence on the Evros, leaving open the possibility of its financing by the European Union. At the same time, he clarified that even if this is not done, the government’s decision to complete the project along the entire river has been made.

“We have been here since the morning with the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Notis Mitarakis, and at 17:30 is the event where the contract with the consortium for the construction of 35 km of the fence will be signed. The government’s decision to build the fence along the entire length of the Evros river has been made,” he stressed initially.

Regarding the financing of the project from Europe, Mr. Theodorikakos emphasized that “this battle has not been definitively lost. A few weeks ago we brought ambassadors here to Evros to see firsthand how important the fence is and I don’t remember any of them disagreeing.”

Speaking about those who claim that the prime minister went to Evros to “sting” far-right votes, the minister replied that “they lack seriousness and for such an important issue they should have taken a more responsible attitude. It is not far-right to defend your borders. In 2022 the police stopped over 265,000 illegal immigrants. Can you imagine what would have happened if we had let them through?

This is why Europeans have begun to perceive things differently. They see that Greece is not only guarding its borders, but also the whole of Europe,” emphasized Mr. Theodorikakos and added:

“I think it is only a matter of time before a series of states, which realize the severity of the problem and are the first to be affected by the influx of illegal immigrants, want to help and this is what they are telling us. So the issue is open. At least for some interventions from the European side such as technological ones that accompany the project such as cameras etc.

“However, we consider it an absolute priority. We will not allow the same things to happen as happened in the past with the immigrants trying to cross the border en masse. SYRIZA identifies with them and will do well to change course because it is against what the people want.”

At the same time, Mr. Theodorikakos clarified that “asylum procedures are carried out normally. Greece fully complies with the laws of international law”.

Regarding PASOK’s position on the fence issue, the minister noted that “PASOK must stop changing. During PASOK, the construction of the fence began. Now he disagrees?”, while he closed his post by commenting that “all political forces should support the project and stop slandering it”.