“The European borders on the Evros are guarded and secure and will continue to be guarded and secure,” said the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinaswho followed the border patrol route in the Evros River Delta with a Greek Police vessel and in the presence of FRONTEX representatives.

“I am finishing my two-day stay in Thrace and Evros, with my visit to the field, in the Ebro Delta, to show the self-evident: That Europe will continue to support and help the Hellenic Republic to defend and guard its external borders. The borders of Greece are the borders of Europe. This was an idea, it was a goal and today it is becoming a tangible reality”, emphasized Mr. Schinas.

“Since 2015, the European Union has supported Greece, in immigration, with over 3.5 billion euros. And after the crisis of 2020, when we were able to deal with this hybrid threat in the Evros, we have practically managed along the border to have equipment, technology, facilities, cameras, vehicles, forces of FRONTEX and I want to take this opportunity to express the My sincere congratulations to the Greek Police and the Greek Army, who in excellent cooperation with FRONTEX have managed to make these borders inaccessible. Europe’s borders are guarded and will continue to be guarded,” he pointed out.

The vice-president of the European Commission followed the route of the border patrol and during it the regional general police director of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Major General Ioannis Karamanlis, informed him about the characteristics of the area and the operations being carried out. At the same time he was impressed by the beauty of the natural environment and the birds that nest there.

Then Mr. Schinas visited a point of the deterrent technical barrier in the area of ​​South Evros.

In the morning he visited the joint operational center of the Hellenic Police, EUROPOL and FRONTEX, where he was informed about the situation at the border.

“On that difficult Clean Monday of 2020, when all of the European leadership met at the Evros, in one of the most important hybrid threats that Europe has ever faced, we said that the borders of the Evros are the borders of Europe. And since then until now we have managed to unify the means and methods of their protection, to give substance and content to those words of ours. We are at the crossroads of Europe and no one can consider that our borders here are vulnerable”, said Mr. Schinas after the briefing.

He characterized the operational center as well equipped, which he noted provides the certainty that Europe’s borders are safe and will remain safe.

During his visit to Evros, Mr. Schinas was accompanied by the regional governor of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Christodoulos Topsidis.