Greece has suspended the processing of asylum applications from North Africa for three months in response to a significant surge in migrant arrivals by sea.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced that individuals arriving by boat from the region will now be arrested and detained. He declared the measure an “emergency response” meant to send “a message of determination… to all traffickers and all their potential customers that the money they spend may be completely wasted.” Draft legislation will be presented to parliament on Thursday, based on the same legal reasoning Greece used in 2020 to stop crossings at its land border with Turkey.
The government’s decision follows a considerable rise in migrant arrivals on the southern islands of Crete and Gavdos. More than 9,000 migrants have arrived since the start of 2024, a 350% increase from the previous year. The influx has placed local authorities under severe logistical strain, with the coast guard reporting that its personnel are “literally on their knees.”
The pace of arrivals is exceeding the capacity of available infrastructure, forcing authorities in Crete to house several hundred people, including families with young children, in a temporary market hall. Efforts to redistribute migrants to other parts of the country are being slowed by the peak tourist season, which has reduced the availability of buses and ferries.
A recent diplomatic effort to address the crisis stalled when a delegation of Greek, Italian, and Maltese ministers, along with the EU’s migration commissioner, was denied entry to Libya by a rival government that accused them of violating the country’s sovereignty. Despite the setback, Mitsotakis said the Greek army was prepared to cooperate with Libyan authorities to prevent boat departures.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized such deals with Libya, noting that migrants intercepted and returned there are often imprisoned in detention camps with inhumane conditions. Amnesty International stated that attempts “to stop departures at any cost show a complete disregard for the lives and dignity of migrants and refugees.”
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