In statements as he arrived for the European Council in Brussels on Thursday, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stated that the European Council will focus on the issue of migration. “For five years Greece has been at the forefront of implementing a very tough but fair policy to address the issues of illegal immigration. I am pleased to see that gradually, both the European Council and the European Commission have come very close to the Greek positions, giving very high importance to the external dimension of the issue of illegal migration and the effective management of the EU’s borders,” he said.
“What is missing from our European strategy is an effective returns policy,” Mitsotakis said, adding that he was “particularly pleased that this is something also recognized by the President of the European Commission, whom it seems we will authorize to be able to present innovative proposals to the Council so that we can make the returns of those who are not entitled to asylum to their countries of origin as effective as possible.”
He emphasized that returns must also be made to Turkiye because this is also part of the EU-Turkiye agreement of 2016.
“So I look forward to a very substantive debate on an issue that is of concern to the whole of Europe, but an issue that is not high on the list of problems that our Greek citizens say they are concerned about because, quite simply, Greece has been very effective in dealing with the issue of illegal migration. So I believe that we can make a substantial contribution by bringing the Greek experience to the European Council,” he concluded.
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