The length of the new fence will be 26 km
The Greek side is erecting a strong barrier in the Evros area on the land border with Turkey to strengthen the external borders of the European Union. This was announced at a briefing on Monday by Stelios Pezas, the official representative of the Greek government.
“A new 26 km fence is currently being erected on the border and 10 km of older sections are being modernised. It is clear that the new fence helps to protect the sovereign rights of the country and sends a clear signal to everyone that Greece is protecting Europe’s external borders”, – Petsas said.
The cabinet representative mentioned the trip of Prime Minister Kiriakos Mitsotakis to the Evros area last weekend.
“Over the past few days, the Prime Minister, expressing particular interest in effectively securing our borders and supporting our residents living in remote areas, visited Evros. He met with local authorities and was informed locally about the construction of the fence, which will be completed in April [2021]”, – the government representative said.
According to Pezas, “in addition to its basic protective and deterrent character, the fence offers many advantages, as it will function as a modern flood protection project, as on the one hand it is built according to the special geomorphology of Evros and on the other hand it takes into account local agricultural production.”
Petsas also said that 400 new permanent border guards will immediately be on duty at Evros for the best protection of the Greek borders, 800 more will be deployed on islands in the eastern Aegean Sea and 480 more will be deployed in the rest of the country.
“A total of 1,680 border guards will be deployed during the year in all areas requiring a stronger police presence”, – said the Cabinet spokesman.