Migration flows in the country have been balanced in the last 20 days, the Minister of Migration and Asylum told SKAI. Thanos Plevris, While talking at the same time the ways in which the government is trying to solve the problem as well as plans for a closed structure in Crete.
«Since the day we voted on the amendment to date, (about 20 days) the total number is below 800 people, when we voted on the amendment we had over 800 people a day“Mr. Plevris initially said.
«247 people have been transferred to PROPERS and about 550 more, of whom 300 are currently transferred to a closed structure that we have given by the Ministry of Immigration and Asylum to the Police. The same will be done with the rest as the regime for anyone entering after the amendment is voted is that it does not enter into a hospitality structure, is arrested, remains incarcerated, and the process is followed to return to the country where it came or to its country of origin.“, He continued.
As the Minister pointed out: “The bottom line is that we have a largely balancing of flow. We don’t say there is no flow at all. This has also played a role in the role that some of these days were bad weather. Correspondingly, there is a significant pressure on diplomatic level that the Eastern Libyan government can work even further about informing boats leaving the coast. So far we have avoided leaving large boats, because we had the big problem and the very large flows when boats with 300 -350 people were leaving. At the moment we do not have such a phenomenon. And our decision is definitely a big role because there is a clear message that you cannot submit asylum in Greece, you do not go into a hospitality structure, you are in prison.».
“The circuits work in a multifaceted process and we can never be sure if there is an aggressive move. So we have to be prepared“, He noted.
He even said that “We had seen a strange activity before we voted on the amendment. We had seen an aggressive process on the internet and on social media calling people from Libya to move to Greece, and Crete, which we watch with great care. This has put us in an additional context that we should be ready».
On the returns of immigrants, Mr. Plevris said that “I believe we will complete the processes for more returns because it is important that at the moment people have conditions of detention rather than freedom. But there must be more returns to make it clear to those on the Libyan coast, which is our main pressure right now, that it makes no sense to pay someone to move because they will come back. “.
For electronic surveillance, Mr Plevris explained that “With the new bill to be passed in late August to early September, once someone applies asylum automatically, the audit process automatically takes place. This takes about a month. Then he will have to come back voluntarily. Because many times we have the phenomenon when you give him the time of voluntary retirement to lose him, the one who will be rejected his asylum will come up with his profile, or in administrative booking directly, or in electronic surveillance to have full monitoring.
Currently a big part of the return to achieve is to accept the countries back. Most returns are made when the person consents. And we are trying me with all these measures, to force this illegal immigrant to work, because when he works, we can automatically have more returns we have now we have now».
Asked about the structure in Crete, The Minister of Migration He said that the goal is to find space and be ready next summer.
«There will be the structure in Crete. We have already requested funding from the Commission. It takes a time frame. If we consider that flows arrive until October and usually after winter we have a great decrease, the main goal is a basic structure to be ready to prepare for time. The spaces that were indicated to us did not meet the terms and conditions so that we could immediately make a structure. We had examined some camps. Based on the conditions they could not become an immediate structure and qualify for the scenario to calmly do the structure where we need to find the space and will open with the local community.».
Mr Plevris noted that spaces have already been found to make a first management of the flows. “With Chania and Rethymnon we have reached an agreement, with Heraklion we are still in some thoughts».