ATHENS, Sept 12 (Askume) – Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Thursday that Germany’s plan to impose tougher checks at its land borders would be tantamount to unilaterally ending Europe’s Schengen zone of open borders, and could put countries such as Greece at risk.
Germany said this week it would begin imposing checks on the generally broad Schengen zone of free movement on Sept. 16, initially for six months, as it seeks to crack down on irregular migration.
“Germany has adopted a very tolerant, socially liberal policy towards immigrants, which is now causing a huge social reaction,” Mitsotakis said in an interview with a Greek radio station.
“The answer cannot be to unilaterally end the Schengen agreement and leave the ball to countries on Europe’s external borders,” he said.
Mitsotakis said that instead, a revised EU Migration and Asylum Treaty should be implemented, which recognises the importance of protecting Europe’s external borders.
Greece was on the front lines of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015-16, when more than 1 million refugees, many of them fleeing the Syrian civil war, arrived mainly via Turkey. Most eventually travel to Germany and other Western European destinations.
The number of migrants arriving in Greece has fallen significantly, but many migrants, mainly from Libya and Egypt, still arrive on Greek shores before heading to Western Europe.
Mitsotakis’ conservative government, which won re-election last year, has tightened immigration policies since 2019.
Greece is building a cement and razor wire fence on its northern border with Turkey to prevent migrants from entering the country, and Greek Civil Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis told state television on Thursday that the fence would be completed within a year.
“We are fulfilling our responsibilities towards Europe and protecting our borders,” Chrysochoudis said.
