Meeting with Austria’s Federal Interior Minister, Gerhard Carnerhad the Minister of Immigration and Asylum Thanos Plevrisduring his official visit to Vienna, in the context of close cooperation of Greece and Austria to address the challenges in immigration and to strengthen the dialogue at European level.

At the heart of the meeting was mainly the cooperation of the two countries to reduce migratory flows and increase returns in third countries. At the same time, the treatment of the tooling of migratory flows, the proper functioning of the asylum system and the fight against illegal movement networks were discussed.

Mr. Plevris stressed that “Since 2019 Greece has decisively reinforced its immigration policy, adopting an active deterrence strategy and integrated protection of borderwhich are identified with the external borders of the European Union. “ He also noted that “Our efforts not only serve our national security, but they directly contribute to Europe’s security and stability as a whole.” He added, in fact, that “Illegal immigration is one of the biggest problems of the European Union” and underlined the need “Developing common measures and increasing returns in third countries”.

He made a special reference to the management of the migration crisis in Crete in July 2025, when Greece was forced to temporarily suspend the reception of asylum applications, a measure that had immediate results. “This measure proved effective: it drastically reduced arrivals and restored stability to the island.”he noted.

The Minister presented and the basic incisions of the new law on returnswho criminalizes the illegal stay, abolishes him ‘Rule of seven years’ and removes the inhibitory effect of successive asylum applications. As he said, “Anyone who lives illegally in Greece is punished with imprisonment of 2 to 5 years. There is only one way to avoid punishment: Returning to country of origin. The message is clear: prison or return. “ At the same time, he stressed that “For asylum seekers, administrative detention is increased or electronic monitoring is applied”, so that, as he noted, the clear message is sent “Anyone who enters Greece illegally cannot stay, cannot continue his journey, has only one option: to come back“

“Our goal is to increase the effectiveness of return policies, with an emphasis on voluntary returns,” Mr Plevris added, and made it clear that: ‘Greece is committed to following the stricter migratory Policy in the European Union, Especially in view of the entry into force of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum. ” He emphasized that “Common measures against illegal immigration must be our common goal” and expressed his conviction that “The challenge of the new pact and the protection of our societies from illegal immigration must be a priority.”

At the same time, the minister pointed out that Greece would connect the legal immigration by managing illegalthrough bilateral agreements with third countries, Where for any legal seasonal worker entering the country, a corresponding number of illegal immigrants of the same nationality will be returned to the country of origin.

Finally, he referred to the strategy of integrating recognized refugees into the labor market, stressing that “The transition from a model of benefits to an active employment framework is a decisive shift.”