Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Wednesday that Greece will pause processing asylum applications from people arriving from North Africa as the nation faces a surge in migrants.
“With legislation that will be submitted to the parliament tomorrow, Greece will suspend the examination of asylum applications, initially for three months, for those arriving in Greece from North Africa by sea,” Mitsotakis told parliament.
The halt comes after the EU’s migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta, and Greece were denied entry into eastern Libya on Tuesday. The leaders traveled to the region to attend a meeting on migration with the parallel government of Osama Hamad, an ally of military commander Khalifa Haftar, who controls the east and parts of southern Libya. The Benghazi-based government declared persona non grata and said the delegation had disregarded “Libyan national sovereignty,” according to Reuters.
Mitsotakis said he intends to return all illegal migrants, including those from Libya, to their country.
“The road to Greece is closing. … Any migrants entering illegally will be arrested and detained,” Mitsotakis told parliament.
This year, there has been a surge of more than 7,300 migrants traveling from northeastern Libya to the islands of Crete and Gavdos, according to the Greek government and aid agencies. The region saw only 5,000 migrants throughout all of last year.
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On Wednesday, the Greek coastguard rescued about 520 migrants from Gavdos as Greece reinforced its vessels patrolling the areas. Most migrants come from the Middle East and North Africa, including residents of Sudan, Egypt, and Bangladesh.
“The Greek government sends a message. … The passage to Greece is closed, and sends a message to all smugglers and all their potential clients that the money they spend is completely wasted,” said Mitsotakis.
