ATHENS – Greece will halt processing asylum applications for people coming from North Africa, Prime Minister Mitotakis said on Wednesday amid a surge in migrant arrivals.
The announcement came one day after the EU immigration commissioners and ministers from Italy, before Malta and Greece were denied entry into the divided eastern Libya in Libya, declared the persona non-grata by a government based in Benghazi, prior to a meeting on immigration.
“According to the laws that will be introduced in Parliament tomorrow, Greece will suspend investigations of asylum applications for initially three months for those arriving in Greece from North Africa at sea,” Mitotakis told Parliament.
He added that he intends to return all migrants who have “illegally” entered Greece back to Libya.
Sea arrivals of migrants from northeastern Libya to Greece's South Crete and the Southern Islands of Gabdos have skyrocketed to more than 7,300 this year, according to estimates from the Greek government and aid agencies. This is compared to about 5,000 for the entire year 2024.
The immigrants come primarily from the Middle East and North Africa, including citizens from Sudan, Egypt and Bangladesh. Greece rescued about 520 migrants from Gabdos early on Wednesday and took them to the mainland, the Greek coast guard said.
Athens deployed two frigates near Libyan territory and strengthened the coast guard ships patrol from Crete to stop the flow. Greece and Libya are trying to repair tensioned relations with an agreement signed between the Libyan government and Turkey in 2019.
“The Greek government sends a message… the passageway to Greece has been closed and sends a message to all smugglers and their potential clients that the money they spend is completely wasted,” Mitotakis said. Reuters
