The geopolitical turmoil is putting pressure on the illegal immigration issue, which is a security challenge, Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Nikos Panagiotopoulos told SKAI 100.3.

Panagiotopoulos stressed that “the statement of the President of the European Commission Orsula von der Leyen sets the tone that the framework is changing, and in the next period the issue of border protection will be discussed more, as we will see stricter provisions on asylum, as well as on the issue of returns from Europe to third countries or to the country of origin.

He also stressed that Turkey should be pressured to implement the 2016 agreement with the EU, which also provides for returns to Turkey.

Finally, he pointed out that cooperation with Greece should be improved in order to tackle organized smuggling rings.