he Minister of the Interior Met with members Greek The government discussed “common challenges faced by illegal immigrants.”
The two-day official visit witnessed Pritty Patel Before heading to patrol with the Greek Coast Guard near Samos, meet with ministers in Athens to learn more about how to prevent boats from crossing.
She also visited a newly built immigration reception center and learned about the country’s asylum reforms, work from home Say.
According to her department, she discussed with the country’s Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Ioannis Plakiotakis about Greece’s response to the “scale and threat posed by the Aegean boat crossings and the involvement of organized migrant criminal groups in these crossings” and listened to For more information. Asylum reform from Notis Mitarachi, Minister of Immigration.
This visit was carried out three months after Immigration Minister Chris Philp conducted a similar visit.
Greece It is said that in recent months, through stricter border controls and walled camps, they have been strengthening their handling of migrants. It denied allegations that its coast guard pushed back the migrant ship when it entered Greek waters.
Some activists have described the so-called closed and controlled camps as inhumane, raising concerns that this visit indicates that the UK may be considering similar options.
A picture posted on Mr. Mitarachi’s Twitter account shows that he and Ms. Patel are looking at diagrams of the center and the building.
The Ministry of the Interior officials insisted that there was no negotiation with Greece on sharing such centers, and the purpose of this visit was not to consider using similar methods in the UK.
The visit was conducted after the British government proposed a comprehensive reform of the asylum system, which may see migrants returning to sea and setting up offshore processing centers so that asylum seekers can be sent when their requirements are confirmed. Go abroad.
The vast majority of asylum seekers reach Greece, Italy and Spain on the southern and southeastern borders of the European Union by sea.
These countries, along with Malta and Cyprus, have been asking other European countries to help care for those who are taken ashore to seek asylum.
According to reports, Immigration Minister Notis Mitarachi has said in the past: “Our policy is strict but fair.”
At the same time, Ms. Patel promised to formulate a new “fair but firm” immigration plan, and the Nationality and Borders Bill is currently being considered by Parliament.
The bill was called the Anti-Refugee Bill by activists who criticized the plan. It aims to criminalize deliberately arriving in the UK without permission and impose harsher penalties on those who are caught doing so and human smugglers.
Only by working together can we break up these criminal gangs all over Europe and other regions, and stop the terrible population trade across the European continent.
This means for the first time that if the application is successful, how someone enters the UK legally or “illegally” will affect the progress of their asylum application and their status in the UK.
The Home Office previously stated that the government is discussing agreements with several European countries to repatriate nationals determined to be illegally staying in the UK. However, it is understood that no agreement has been reached so far.
The department could not confirm whether Ms. Patel participated in any such negotiations with her Greek counterparts during this visit.
Ms. Patel said: “We are seeing a surge in illegal immigration across Europe, and we must continue to work closely with our Greek partners to meet this challenge facing our two countries.
“Only by working together, we can smash these criminal gangs all over Europe and other regions, and stop the terrible human trade across the European continent.”
During this trip, Ms. Patel also met with the Minister of Civil Protection Michalis Chrisochoidis and “reaffirmed their commitment to continue to work together to address the challenges of terrorism and organized crime facing Greece and the United Kingdom.”
