Following his meeting with Shipping & Aegean Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis in Athens on Friday, Mr. Dimitris Avramopoulos, the European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, underlined the importance of Greece’s role in combating illegal migration.

Mr. Avramopoulos, who was briefed by Greek Coastguard officers on the methods used for tackling illegal migration, underlined that in this effort “Greece is not alone, it has Europe by its side”.

On his part, the Shipping & Aegean Minister stated that illegal migration is a major challenge for the country and also a major “asymmetric threat” faced by the European Union.

Mr. Varvitsiotis also noted that the strategy for tackling illegal migration has two priorities: safeguarding of the country’s sea borders and making sure that not a single life is lost at sea.

Mr. Avramopoulos characterized the meeting as “very interesting, substantive and useful” and stressed the need to ensure that the EU and the member-states respect the human rights of illegal migrants.