In the wake of Friedrich Merz’s (CDU) proposal to reject asylum seekers at Germany’s borders, Greek Migration Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos has warned against a unilateral approach. “This is a European problem that requires European solutions, not one-sided measures” he told the Welt am Sonntag in an interview.
Panagiotopoulos sees a solution in more effective deportations, with Turkey potentially playing a key role once again. “It would be simpler to carry out deportations to the countries of origin if Turkey were to become a hub for returns from the EU” he said, noting that Ankara has the logistical capacity to carry out deportations to Syria, making a cooperation in this area promising.
Regarding the accusation that Greece is refusing to take back migrants from Germany, first registered in Greece, Panagiotopoulos said: “We have already accepted a list of over 500 people who we can immediately take back under the Dublin rules. However, very few of these people have actually been returned. The difficulties lie on the German side.” A problem is the location of the migrants. Figures from the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees show that Athens rejected 14,930 out of 15,453 Dublin requests last year.