Greece’s Minister of Migration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, spoke on Wednesday morning about migration flows along the Evros border, the Aegean islands and Crete, describing Libya as a “problem” for migration and warning that, if the North African country fails to cooperate, “we will take measures involving further escalation”.

Speaking first about Evros, Plevris told SKAI television: “There has been a 33% increase compared with 2025, but in absolute numbers that amounts to 1,500 people. Evros consistently records 6,000–8,000 arrivals a year. The increase occurred during the summer.”

On the Aegean, he said arrivals were at a “historic low”, with 8,300 recorded over the first 11 months of the year, down 70% on last year.

“The problem with migration is Libya. There is always a second consideration: whether there is any possible weaponisation linked to the Turkey-Libya memorandum. Libya has been generating migration flows since 2024. It accounted for 21,000 arrivals in 2025, while we are now at 24,000, with another month and a half to go.

“An increase was observed from August onwards, peaking in October with 5,500 arrivals. Following the Turkey-Libya memorandum, the situation regarding Libya’s conduct deteriorated. The major problem is that the money goes to western Libya, which is the internationally recognised government.”

Regarding Crete in particular, he said: “There are currently 1,500 migrants on the island, and 24,000 have arrived there. Even when Crete is included, migration flows are currently down by 20,000 compared with last year.”

Explaining the government’s approach, he said: “The first priority is diplomacy. Contacts have been made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, and we are waiting for a response from Libya. The second point is that when someone arrives here, we separate them according to their profile. If they have a migrant profile, they are sent to an open accommodation facility; otherwise, they go to a closed facility.”

He warned that “if cooperation with Libya is not achieved, it is obvious that we are ready to take measures involving further escalation”.