The islet of Evros where the 38 migrants were found is not Greek territory as major opposition party SYRIZA claimed, said the Greek Minister of Immigration and Asylum  Notis Mitarakis.

More specifically, Mitarakis mentioned that both the Army Geographical Service and the Land Registry clearly stated that the mark left by the immigrants was outside the Greek territory.

The minister, speaking on Sky radio, noted that Greece cannot be a borderless land and Turkey is not in a state of war. As he said, “humanism is very important, but the people who wish to come to the E.U. because of the inequalities that exist in the world there are hundreds of millions”. “We are not talking about a closed Europe, but not a Europe where the smugglers will decide who will come,” he added.

Regarding the arrival of migrants to other islands, such as Kythira, he stated that the continuous patrols in the Aegean, as well as the fence in Evros, have forced smugglers to look for other routes to other islands and are exploiting the islets of Evros.

Notis Mitarakis announced that the fence in Evros will be extended by about 80 kilometers more. The minister said that currently 18,000 immigrants are being hosted in hospitality structures in our country, out of 92,000 in 2020. He also noted that of the 121 structures that existed, 34 are now operating throughout the country. In fact, he stated that this created a problem in some areas, as there were no land workers.

Referring to the refugee flows he said that “last year we had the lowest numbers of arrivals in the last decade, 8,500 immigrants”. This year is expected to be the second lowest year of the decade in immigration flows with 7,000 immigrant arrivals so far, Mr. Mitarakis added.

He also said that on December 31, all the apartments allocated to asylum seekers across the country will be released as the related program is completed.

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