“Greece is not an open range”, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during his response in Parliament to a question raised by KINAL President Fofi Gennimata regarding the immigration issue.

“Our borders are guarded and will be guarded because we have borders both on land and at sea. The new law speeds up the asylum process. The islands are gradually being relieved by the proportional transfer of refugees to other areas. At the international level we will insist on improving the Dublin framework. Greece has its weaknesses but it is not an open range. Those times are over. This means stricter border guard policy, enclosed accommodation,” he said.

The Greek PM reiterated the European – international angle of the problem while laying out in detail the measures taken by the government to deal with the issue.

In his response to the president of KINAL, the prime minister pointed out that “the problem has serious social repercussions, as well as a series of objective difficulties in its management”.

He went on to say: “Unfortunately, the initial poor decisions have compounded the problem with the original refugee flows turning into a migratory storm. Since the decision to close our northern border has been made, the core of the problem at the eastern border has led to an explosion of the crisis that we are called upon to address. We cannot waste time laying blame on the previous administration. We have a duty to meet our own responsibilities and to rely on your help.”