Thursday

23rd Mar 2023

Greece dismisses EU states' objections on refugee travel

  • An new Amnesty International report has found fresh evidence of pushbacks in Greece (Photo: Stephen Ryan / IFRC)

Greece has entrenched its position on permitting migrants and refugees to travel freely throughout the European Union.

"The concept of 'secondary movement' is out of date," Greek migration minister Notis Mitarachi told an online panel hosted by the London School of Economics on Tuesday (22 June).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

Secondary movement refers to onward travel by migrants and refugees from the EU state they initially arrived in - often Italy or Greece.

The issue has caused political tensions among some other EU states - including the introduction of temporary border restrictions and controls.

A letter to the European Commission earlier this month had also complained about secondary movements from Greece.

Jointly signed by interior ministers from France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, the letter noted a "rapid increase" of people traveling with Greek documents for refugees.

They said the refugees are using family visits and tourism as a pretext to then lodge asylum claims upon arrival.

"We would ask for a decisive step to be taken to put an immediate end to the flagrant abuse of refugee travel documents," notes the letter.

Mitarachi dismissed the concerns, describing Europe as a "common space".

"We're obliged to provide residence permits and travel documents to recognised refugees," he said, suggesting they are attracted to higher salaries and benefits found elsewhere.

The issue is likely to further complicate negotiations on EU asylum and migration reforms as issues of solidarity continue to elude policy and law makers.

"The solidarity, between member states, and is also to prevent secondary movement, this is a core area where we are failing today," said EU home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson, in late May.

Her statement was echoed by Stephan Mayer, an official from Germany's interior minister.

"It is important to us that sufficient priority is given to preventing irregular secondary movements," he had said, also in May.

The back and forth comes as Greece seeks to further secure its own borders, return unwanted migrants, and prevent others from reaching the Aegean islands from Turkey and the Evros land border region.

Amnesty documents new pushbacks in Greece

Athens has also come under increasing pressure over push-backs - an illegal practice where asylum seekers are forced back into Turkey.

Greece denies the allegations and claims it adheres to laws including an EU regulation on border surveillance.

But a new 46-page report by Amnesty International, out on Wednesday, has provided further fresh evidence of the abuse.

"Our research shows that violent pushbacks have become the de facto Greek border control policy in the Evros region," said Amnesty International's Adriana Tidona, in a statement.

Based on testimonies, the research documents 21 new pushback incidents spanning June to December 2020.

It said some are apprehended from mainland Greece and returned, including two cases where people had registered-protection status.

The NGO also faults Turkey and the EU's border agency Frontex, which has deployed several hundred guards in Greece.

Greece shouldn't have to integrate refugees, minister says

Greek migration minister Notis Mitarachi says Athens should not be required to integrate refugees, because it is provides other services such as border protection. Instead, he says they should be free to move to other EU states.

Internal paper lays out EU splits on 'returning' migrants

An internal document from January outlines the divisions among EU states when it comes the European Commission's proposal on "return sponsorships". Although positions may have since shifted, the document provides a glimpse into the Council's thinking.

EU sends mixed message on Turkey as 'safe' haven

Greece has declared Turkey a safe country for asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Syria and Somalia. But the European Commission appears to have shed doubt on the claim, saying individual cases still need to be assessed.

Opinion

Using migrants to do Greece's dirty work

Human Rights Watch refugee programme director reflects on 14 years of progress in Greece's treatment of migrants — and finds things have gone backwards.

Recognised refugees going hungry in Greece, say NGOs

Thousands of recognised refugees and others in Greece are said to be going hungry. The issue has been brewing for months by a Greek government that appears to be using hunger as an asylum deterrence for others.

Letter

Urgent EU action needed for Afghan refugees

For 20 years, Westerners and Afghans have been trying to build a free and democratic Afghanistan. This project has failed. Let us avoid that those who believed in it pay the price.

Opinion

EU migration policy will turn Greece into the jail of Europe

Europe is stepping back from its core values of human dignity, human rights and the rule of law, which have been the building blocks of the political edifice of the EU, writes Kostas Arvanitis MEP of Syriza/The Left.

Latest News

  1. Sweden worried by EU visa-free deal with Venezuela
  2. Spain denies any responsibility in Melilla migrant deaths
  3. How much can we trust Russian opinion polls on the war?
  4. Banning PFAS 'forever chemicals' may take forever in Brussels
  5. EU Parliament joins court case against Hungary's anti-LGBTI law
  6. Three French MEPs to stay on election-observation blacklist
  7. Turkey's election — the Erdoğan vs Kılıçdaroğlu showdown
  8. When geopolitics trump human rights, we are all losers

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic and Baltic ways to prevent gender-based violence
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Economic gender equality now! Nordic ways to close the pension gap
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: Pushing back the push-back - Nordic solutions to online gender-based violence
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCSW67: The Nordics are ready to push for gender equality
  5. Promote UkraineInvitation to the National Demonstration in solidarity with Ukraine on 25.02.2023
  6. Azerbaijan Embassy9th Southern Gas Corridor Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting and 1st Green Energy Advisory Council Ministerial Meeting

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us