Greece announces even harsher measures to deter migrants

ATHENS

Greece on Thursday unveiled a series of tougher measures aimed at curbing the arrival of migrants, following an earlier announcement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

In an interview with broadcaster SKAI TV, Migration Minister Thanos Plevris recalled the prime minister’s measures – including a temporary suspension of asylum application reviews for migrants arriving from North Africa and the detention of those entering illegally.

“We have made it clear that Greece cannot tolerate boats arriving every day with a total of 1,000 people,” he said. “So, at this moment we are entering dynamically with a series of moves.”

Among the additional steps, Plevris outlined, are detention periods of up to 18 months and prison sentences of up to five years without parole for certain offenses.

The minister also announced significant cuts to benefits for migrants and a downgrade in the quality of food served at reception centers.

“From now on, the government will adopt a policy of a drastic reduction in benefits. Among other things, I asked for a review of the menu provided to the structures, which is currently a hotel menu,” he said.

Plevris added that Athens is working to prevent migrant boats from departing Libya and remains ready to intervene further if diplomatic efforts fail.

Mitsotakis revealed the initial batch of tougher policies on Wednesday amid a surge in migrant arrivals to the island of Crete from Libya. Addressing parliament, he said the scale of new arrivals "requires extraordinary measures."

Since early summer, Crete has experienced a notable increase in migrants arriving by sea.

In response, in late June, Greece deployed warships off Libya’s coast. Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis also visited Benghazi to discuss the situation with Khalifa Haftar, commander of the eastern Libyan forces.