The Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Thanos Plevris, at a teleconference with the Regional Governor of Crete and the Mayors of Heraklion, Rethymnon and Chania, discussed the issue of temporary hospitality migrants to the island. The minister stressed that the new, permanent hospitality structure would not be ready to meet the needs of this summer and assured that any solution would consult with local communities, without surprise.
Mr Plevris pointed out the need to exploit the Regional Governor’s proposal to create three temporary spacesone in each county, in order to avoid unwanted situations that have been observed in the past. He asked the three mayors to indicate specific locations, and their way of operation was discussed. The Ministry of Immigration and Asylum will be funded by these areas.
At the same time, the minister said that during the suspension of asylum, positions have been secured in Pre -Deporter Detention Centers (PROPA) of the Hellenic Police or in temporarily available structures by the Ministry. This means that most of the newcomers are not expected to burden Crete. However, he underlined the necessity of temporary sites on the island, as it is not excluded that there will be migratory flows that will be directed there directly there.