Greece has detained illegal migrants from Libya and denied them the right to apply for asylum. Minister of Migration Thanos Plevris announced that they would stay in custody until deportation. This is another step in Athena's tightening of migration policy against the increasing influx of people from North Africa.
Illegal migrants who have arrived from Libya in the last fewer hours have been detained by the Coast Guard," said Thanos Plevris on page X. Minister stressed that detainees do not have the right to apply for asylum and will not be taken to reception centres.
The detainees will stay in police custody until the deportation process begins. This is the direct effect of a fresh migration policy introduced by the Greek government.
Suspension of processing of asylum applications
On July 9, the government announced that it would suspend for 3 months the processing of asylum applications from migrants arriving on boats from North Africa. This decision responds to the dramatic increase in the number of people reaching Greece.
According to the Greek authorities, more than 7.3 1000 migrants have arrived in Crete and Gawdos since the beginning of the year, compared with 4.9 1000 in the full 2024. Only in July did more than 2,000 people scope Crete.
Pressure from local authorities and the tourism industry
The fast increase in migrants has angered local authorities and tourist operators. They put force on the government to request that the influx of immigrants to islands be stopped.
"Anyone who enters my country illegally must realize that he is coming to my country under the surveillance system, not hospitality. We are not a hotel" - said Plevris on Thursday on Open TV. The Minister has clearly tightened rhetoric towards migrants.
New migration way from east Libya
Since the beginning of the year, Eritreans, Sudanese and Yemen and Pakistan have been increasingly embarking on a way starting in east divided Libya. From there, it is closest to Crete and Gawdos.
The usage of the East-Libyan way is simply a reaction of smugglers to closer control of conventional routes from western Libya. European forces have taken these routes with increased supervision.
Diplomatic dispute with Libya
In the context of attempts to halt migrants, there is simply a serious diplomatic dispute between Greece and Libya. The conflict rose erstwhile Greece announced its plans to research hydrocarbons south of Crete.
The administrations of both parts of Libya responded for the first time and accused Athens of violating the Libyan territorial water zone. They called on Greece to suspend the May tender for oil and gas exploration in the disputed waters.
Athens had already temporarily suspended the processing of asylum applications in 2020, erstwhile thousands of asylum seekers in the European Union flooded the Greek-Turkish border at the highest of the migration crisis.
(PAP) Note: This article was edited with Artificial Intelligence.
