The Migration & Asylum Ministry is working closely and intensely with the Coast Guard to manage migrant flows, which are showing a spike on Crete lately, Minister Makis Voridis told Parliament earlier on Monday.

Responding to a question by Independent Deputy Evangelos Apostolakis, Voridis also informed Parliament that Foreign Affairs Minister George Gerapetritis plans to visit Libya for an agreement on deterring migration flows, since the southern migration corridor has opened.

On his part, Apostolakis said that Crete and Gavdos - the island that is the southernmost point of Greece - are receiving hundreds of migrants and refugees on a daily basis, and that the Port Authority/Coast Guard has repeatedly warned that as of last year there have been and still are thousands of people at the coast of North Africa planning to cross the Mediterranean, therefore the Coast Guard needs to be strengthened. The government must take needed measures before increased migrant and refugee flows that have turned Crete into a new gateway to Europe, the deputy added.

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According to the Migrant & Asylum minister, there was a total of 4,601 arrivals from January 1 to May 31, 2025 (2,879 arrivals Jan-April and 1,722 arrivals in May). "We have a very significant drop in flows in the East Aegean, we have a very significant rise of flows on Crete. In migration balance totals, we were 34% down in May compared to last year in terms of flows, total flows, but there is a 174% surge  on Crete. Therefore, the southern corridor has opened, and this needs to be dealt with," Minister Voridis said.

Ηe reiterated that the ministry manages migration flows from the moment they arrive and after they are registered as illegal arrivals by the Coast Guard or the Greek police. The effective guarding of borders and the policies of active deterrence relate to the Port Authority/Coast Guard and the Greek police, and issues related to signing agreements relate primarily and mainly to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, although they are of immediate interest to the Migration & Asylum Ministry, Voridis said.

Referring to the foreign minister, Voridis told Apostolakis that Gerapetritis "is preparing to travel to Libya shortly to meet with the government and government officials of Libya in general, in order to reach an agreement of deterring the networks of sailings, of movement, of fleeing people, and so that there is a control on Libya's part, therefore establish cooperation of the Greek Port Authority with the government of Libya, in order for the flows to stop."

The Migration & Asylum Ministry and the Port Authority are working closely together for the Program Period of 2021-2027, a plan with a budget of over 164 million euros (NSRF), while the programs that belong solely to the Migration & Asylum Ministry include 17 projects worth a total of 476.38 million euros, Voridis added. As he explained, regarding the management after their entry, migrants entering illegally and then requesting asylum are transported inland - that is, at the facilities in Malakasa, Fylakio and Diavata, in order to process the asylum applications submitted.