Greece will suspend the processing of migrant asylum applications from North Africa.

Greece will suspend the processing of migrant asylum applications from North Africa. The processing of asylum applications from individuals arriving from North Africa will be suspended in Greece for a period of three months.

 

 

 

The decision was announced by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in parliament on Wednesday, in response to an increase in the number of arrivals. Since the weekend, an estimated 2,000 migrants and refugees have arrived on Crete, causing

 

 

 

 

frustration among local authorities and tourism operators. Mitsotakis informed the parliament that Greece will suspend the examination of asylum applications for individuals arriving in Greece from North Africa by sea for a period of three months, following the submission of legislation to the parliament tomorrow. Mitsotakis further stated that migrants who enter the country unlawfully will be apprehended and detained.

 

 

 

 

The conservative leader stated that the chamber would vote on the legislation on Thursday and that Athens was keeping the European Union informed about the matter. Mitsotakis stated that the navy and coastguard of Greece were prepared to collaborate with Libyan authorities in order to prevent migrant vessels from departing the country’s territorial waters or to redirect them prior to entering Greek waters.

 

 

 

 

So far this year, the Greek government and aid organizations have estimated that the number of sea arrivals of individuals departing from northeastern Libya and attempting to reach Europe via Greece’s southern islands of Crete and Gavdos has surpassed 7,300..The migrants primarily originate from the Middle East and North Africa, with Sudanese and Egyptian nationals, as well as from countries such as Bangladesh. ”

 

 

 

 

 

Illegal” The Greek Council for Refugees issued a statement on social media, insisting that the suspension of asylum was “illegal” and a violation of international law. The group accused the government of using the increased influx of migrants and refugees as a “excuse,” asserting that it “only demonstrates Greece’s inability to guarantee basic fundamental rights.”

 

 

 

 

The Greek coastguard reported that approximately 520 individuals were rescued off Gavdos early on Wednesday and were being transported to the mainland. The Mediterranean nation was at the forefront of the 2015-2016 migration crisis, during which over one million individuals fled conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa and entered Europe.