By admin ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek official on Tuesday criticized the outgoing European Commission for failing to develop a common policy to deport migrants and warned that war and climate change are increasing global displacement.
Deputy Migration Minister Sofia Voultepsi said the European Union’s landmark migration pact agreed earlier this year still has practical shortcomings.
“We have (a deal), but a fundamental element is still missing: returns,” Voultepsi said at a conference near Athens. “We must have a common asylum system, a common return system and a common integration system.”
In her opinion, wars in the Middle East and Africa, combined with the effects of climate change, will put Europe under constant, long-term pressure.
The new EU migration pact is due to enter into force in mid-2026 after a new round of negotiations with the bloc’s 27 member states, which is expected to last about a year.
Voultepsi expressed concern about the growing number of refugees in Lebanon amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes against the Hezbollah militia and added: “Countries such as Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan… are affected by both war and climate change, creating an ever-increasing influx of migrants to Europe.”
Greece is the main entry point for migrants into the European Union, with most people crossing the border from Turkey and Libya on unsafe boats.
The coast guard said on Tuesday that 81 migrants had been rescued from a stranded ship sailing from Turkey to Italy.
The incident occurred on Sunday, and the rescue operation was carried out using two merchant ships. The rescued migrants, who were taken to the southern Greek port of Kalamata late on Monday, told Greek authorities they had paid $8,500 each for the trip. Four passengers were arrested on smuggling charges.
In other places in Europe, e.g Italian naval ship was scheduled to dock in an Albanian port with the first group of 16 migrants who were intercepted in international waters. Their asylum applications will be considered processed in Albania instead of Italy, under five-year agreement between the two countries.
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk plans temporarily suspend the right to asylum. The new migration policy was presented at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting. If adopted, it will require the consent of parliament, in which Tusk’s coalition government has a majority, and conservative President Andrzej Duda.
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