Greece’s Citizen Protection Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday confirming that a delegation of German specialists on issues of migration, met with their Greek counterparts to find ways of collaborating and dealing with immigration challenges.
The meeting came ahead of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ upcoming visit to Berlin.
The focus of the meeting was the process of receiving migrants from non-EU countries, examining their requests for asylum in Greece and returning those who do not qualify.
According to the statement, the discussions built on previous meetings between Giorgos Koumoutsakos, Alternate Minister for Migration Policy, and Jan Hecker, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s advisor on Foreign Policy.
It also quoted Koumoutsakos as saying that “the deepening of Athens and Berlin’s collaboration in migration/refugee issues and the exchange of know-how confirm our commitment to working closely with our European partners.” He added that “in these turbulent times, highlighting the European aspect of the issue and the joint political interventions needed is a priority for Greece.”
