Greece’s Migration Minister Makis Voridis has reaffirmed the country’s tough stance on illegal residency, stating that individuals without legal status must either leave voluntarily or face detention. In a recent interview, Voridis emphasized that Greece is not a country of “uncontrollable entry and stay,” and announced the reinstatement of Turkiye as a designated safe third country to streamline asylum rejections and returns.
Tag: asylum
Greece has successfully completed a humanitarian medical evacuation of ten sick and injured children from Gaza, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The operation was carried out with the support of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, WHO, and Egyptian authorities. The children, who received initial treatment in Cairo, were transported to Athens on a special AEGEAN flight. They will now receive medical care in Greek hospitals, while their guardians will be accommodated by the Ministry of Migration and Asylum.
Greece’s Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos pledged to ease pressure on Samos by accelerating migrant transfers to the mainland and increasing returns of rejected asylum seekers. During his visit, he emphasised security and cooperation with Frontex while acknowledging ongoing challenges despite a recent drop in arrivals. Meanwhile, Greek authorities rescued 82 migrants off Crete, highlighting the continued risks of irregular migration.
Greece’s Minister of Migration and Asylum, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, highlighted the impact of geopolitical crises and climate change on migration flows at the Thessaloniki Summit 2025. Emphasizing the importance of Greece-Cyprus-Egypt cooperation, he stressed the need to control illegal migration while promoting legal pathways to boost national economies. Panagiotopoulos also outlined Greece’s efforts at the EU level to improve asylum policies and streamline return processes for those not entitled to stay.
Greece recorded the highest rates of first-time asylum applications in Europe at 79.5% according to…
Greek authorities reported the rescue of over 170 migrants in the past three days, with most found off the southern coast of Greece, an increasingly popular route for traffickers. Authorities are noting a rising number of arrivals from Libya, with many choosing the perilous journey to Greece’s islands, including Crete and Gavdos.
Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his family have been granted asylum in Moscow on humanitarian grounds, as confirmed by a Kremlin source via TASS. Concurrently, Russia has requested a closed-door UN Security Council meeting to address the peacekeeping mission in the occupied Golan Heights, according to diplomatic sources.
Europe has made a decision… that it is not possible for traffickers to determine who will join the European Union… Our argument will only be complete if we say that we determine who wants to join the European Union, but whoever cannot and does not have a place in Europe because they are not entitled to asylum, must return to the country of origin,” Mitsotakis emphasized.
Cyprus is witnessing a sharp decline in illegal immigration following a series of stringent measures implemented by the government earlier this year, including stricter asylum policies, intensified border security, and a crackdown on employers hiring undocumented workers.
In Athens, Spain’s opposition leader Alberto Nuñez Feijóo praised Greece’s “fair, austere, and humanitarian” migration policies, contrasting them with Spain’s “non-existent” approach. He called for a unified EU migration policy, increased border security, and new agreements with migrant origin and transit countries.
In a significant move aimed at overhauling the European Union’s approach to migration and asylum,…
The European Union has unveiled a new migration and asylum pact that aims to strengthen border security while upholding humanitarian values. However, the pact has drawn mixed reactions from experts and human rights groups.
The exodus has triggered calls from Nicosia to its European Union partners to do more to assist Lebanon, as well as reconsider the status of war-torn Syria, which is at present considered unsafe to repatriate asylum seekers.
Nearly 5,000 applications have been submitted for a new type of work permit designed for…
Forty Pakistanis and 10 Georgians will be returned to their country of origin after their…
Greece has seen a surge in asylum applications, an estimated 10,285, amid an EU-wide increase…
The possibility of a returns agreement to send migrants back to Turkey seems highly unlikely…
Italy and Albania’s migrant agreement is set to be ratified after the Constitutional Court of…
Police in Thessaloniki arrested a Turkish citizen after executing a European warrant issued by the…
This was no mythical embarkation to ‘Cythera’ as the idyllic pilgrimage, as Aphrodite’s birthplace is…