The Greek Government planned to build deportation centres and refused to grant asylum for more than three years.
In view of the recent significant increase in new arrivals, the Greek Government wished to make its country unattractive as a destination for illegal immigrants.
Greek Minister for Migration Notis Mitarakis announced yesterday that five registration and deportation centres will be established on the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos. The construction is scheduled to begin in March, the Minister said in an interview for Skai TV in Athens.
In turn, the existing facilities, including the notorious Camp Moriah in Lesbos, should be gradually closed.
“We plan to prepare camps in the summer and want to send 200 migrants back to Turkey every week”, – Mitarakis said.
At the same time, the Greek government aims to stop granting asylum for more than 3 years. In an interview with the newspaper “To Vima”, the Minister of Migration announced that the previous principles of granting asylum had become obsolete.
“In the future, refugees will be provided with housing for a maximum of three years. Even if conditions change in the country of origin, asylum “cannot be extended”, – said Mitarakis.
Greece has granted asylum to about 40,000 people since the beginning of the refugee crisis in 2015, said the Minister, 87,000 more applications for asylum are pending.