Greece drafts tougher law for rejected asylum seekers, PM says
ATHENS, May 28 (Reuters) - Greece has prepared legislation that will introduce tougher penalties for rejected asylum seekers and speed up returns to their home countries, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday.
The Mediterranean nation was on the frontline of a 2015-2016 migration crisis when more than a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa crossed into Europe.
The surge in arrivals triggered calls for countries on Europe's southern frontier like Greece and Italy to shore up their borders.
The numbers have since fallen. But migration remains a politically charged issue in Greece, and Mitsotakis has pledged to toughen his stance.
"Penalties will be heavier for those who enter the country illegally or stay in our country, if their asylum application is being rejected," Mitsotakis told a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, which discussed a new draft law on illegal migration.
Mitsotakis said the bill will also aim to speed up returns through a "more effective and fair mechanism". The regulations will need parliamentary approval before taking effect.
Migrant flows to Greece dropped 30% in the first four months of this year compared to the previous year as fewer people entered along its eastern border with Turkey.
But sea arrivals from Libya to the outlying islands of Crete and Gavdos have surged in recent months along a new smuggling route on the Mediterranean Sea. Thousands of rejected asylum seekers are stranded in Greece.
In order to accelerate asylum processes and reduce pressure on asylum systems, the EU's executive last week proposed amending European law to allow member states to deport rejected asylum seekers if they can be sent to a third country deemed safe by the bloc.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Sir Keir Starmer blasts ‘appalling' Gaza strikes and warns Netanyahu over deaths near food centres
Sir Keir said one MP was 'absolutely right to describe these as dark days' PM ISRAEL BLAST Sir Keir Starmer blasts 'appalling' Gaza strikes and warns Netanyahu over deaths near food centres SIR Keir Starmer said Israel's recent military action in Gaza was appalling — as he again called for a ceasefire. The PM said Benjamin Netanyahu's approach was counterproductive, as he hinted more sanctions would be imposed. Advertisement 3 PM Sir Keir Starmer said Israel's recent military action in Gaza was appalling 3 The PM said Benjamin Netanyahu's approach was counterproductive, as he hinted more sanctions would be imposed Credit: Reuters It came after at least 27 Palestinians were killed in shootings near Gaza's food distribution centres. Britain has already suspended talks with Israel over a free trade deal. Three MPs raised the situation at Prime Minister's Questions yesterday. Sir Keir said one MP was 'absolutely right to describe these as dark days'. Advertisement READ MORE ON ISRAEL ATTACK ARRESTS Family of terrorist who hurled Molotov cocktails at pro-Israel rally held And he went on: 'Israel's recent action is appalling and, in my view, counterproductive and intolerable.' Yesterday, Israel issued a warning to Greta Thunberg's so-called Freedom Flotilla as the climate activist aimed to sail into Gaza. The Swede was pulling a dangerous stunt after leaving from Catania, Italy, on Sunday aboard the Madleen. The boat, carrying 11 pro-Palestine protesters, sailed south of Crete and aimed directly for the terror hotbed with only a "symbolic" amount of aid. Advertisement The young campaigners said they were hoping to 'break the siege' and raise 'international awareness' of the humanitarian crisis on the Gaza Strip. Thunberg, 22, posted on social media with a Palestine flag and wearing a keffiyeh scarf while on the pointless journey. Israel is prepared to raid the ship, IDF spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said. Israel issues warning to Greta's 'Freedom Flotilla' as eco-pest SAILS to Gaza 3 It came after at least 27 Palestinians were killed in shootings near Gaza's food distribution centres Credit: AFP
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Putin tells Trump talks with Ukraine useful despite what he called attempts to disrupt them
MOSCOW, June 4 (Reuters) - Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin told U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday that a second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine was useful despite Kyiv's attempt to disrupt them by staging attacks Putin considered terrorism, a Kremlin foreign policy aide said. Yuri Ushakov also said that the two presidents discussed other international issues, particularly the Middle East conflict and how Russia could help deal with Iran and its nuclear programme. Ushakov told reporters after Putin and Trump spoke by telephone for more than an hour that Ukrainian attacks on bridges and other civilian infrastructure were an attempt to torpedo the negotiations. "It was stressed that Ukraine tried to disrupt these talks by carrying out, on the direct orders of the Kyiv regime, deliberate attacks on civilian targets, on peaceful civilians," Ushakov told reporters. "The Kyiv regime has in essence degenerated into a terrorist organisation. The Russian side did not give in to provocations ... Let me stress that our president described in detail the content of the talks and that these talks on the whole were useful." Memorandums outlining peace plans were exchanged and will be analysed, Ushakov said, "and we hope that afterwards the two sides will be able to continue their talks." He said the issue of a possible meeting between Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had not been raised at this stage. But talks with Ukraine were possible despite what Moscow denounced as terrorist acts as "on the whole they are vital to achieve some sort of settlement." Ushakov said Trump "listened intently" to Putin's description of events in Ukraine. "I think it was very useful for Trump to hear our assessment of what has been happening." Both presidents, he said, described their exchanges as "positive and very productive. Both President Trump and our president confirmed their readiness to remain in contact." On Iran, Ushakov said the United States believed Russia could play an important role in helping with the difficulties over Tehran's nuclear programme. "Donald Trump believes that Russian assistance is possible and vital and he would be grateful if Russia could help in an appropriate fashion by working with the Iranian side," he said. The two presidents, he said, also discussed the Middle East and tensions between India and Pakistan.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Trump cannot proceed with gutting US Education Department, court rules
BOSTON, June 4 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday declined to lift a judge's order blocking President Donald Trump's administration from carrying out his executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and requiring it to reinstate employees who were terminated in a mass layoff. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration's request to put on hold an injunction issued by a lower-court judge last week at the urging of several Democratic-led states, school districts and teachers' unions. The U.S. Department of Justice had asked for a swift ruling from the 1st Circuit so that it could promptly take the case up to the 6-3 conservative majority U.S. Supreme Court if the appeals court did not rule in its favor. The lawsuits were filed after Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in March announced plans to carry out a mass termination of over 1,300 employees, which would cut the department's staff by half as part of what it said was its "final mission." Those job cuts were announced a week before Trump signed an executive order calling for the department's closure, following a campaign promise to conservatives aimed at leaving school policy almost entirely in the hands of states and local school boards. Trump later announced plans to transfer the department's student loan portfolio to the Small Business Administration and its special education, nutrition, and related services to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In combination with 600 employees who took buyout offers, the Education Department said the job cuts once implemented would leave it with 2,183 workers, down from 4,133 when Trump took office on January 20. Affected employees were placed on administrative leave on March 21 and were told they would continue receiving full pay and benefits until June 9. The administration argued the cuts were a lawful effort to streamline the agency and cut bloat. But U.S. District Judge Myong Joun on May 22 concluded that the job cuts were in fact an effort by the administration to shut down the department without the necessary approval of Congress, which created the agency in 1979. He said the "massive reduction in staff has made it effectively impossible for the department to carry out its statutorily mandated functions." The Education Department on Tuesday said it notified those employees about the judge's ruling in an effort to comply with it. The administration also appealed, saying that while Trump has made no secret of his desire to abolish the department, his administration understood that only Congress could do so and that the case ultimately concerned a personnel action.
