Greece will not tolerate thousands arriving in small boats each day from the shores of North Africa, Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris stressed in statements to SKAI television on Thursday morning.
"The big problem at the moment is not at our eastern border but in the Libyan Sea," Plevris said, announcing that a series of immediate deterrent measures will be adopted:
"We cannot stand by and watch as boats arrive with a thousand people and not react. Greece will not tolerate this. The country's strategy is deterrence and control. If mass flows continue, the deterrent presence in the sea border will be reinforced, always within the framework of international law," he said.
Plevris pointed out that Greece had early on adopted the view that refugee status should only be given to those that satisfy the criteria for international protection, with ever more European governments aligning with this position. "It has now become essential to establish a uniform European framework for returns,' he added.
The minister said that Greece is now passing on to the "disincentives" phase, such suspending the examination of asylum applications, detaining irregular migrants and re-examining all handouts and benefits. "The migration ministry is not a hotel," he said, adding that the country cannot seem an "attractive destination" for those that enter illegally.
Plevris said that the first step will be to suspend the submission of asylum applications, sending a clear message that Greece no long provides a refuge by simply applying for asylum. He said that immigrants who do not qualify for asylum will henceforth be held in custody as Greece worked on agreements for their return to the countries of origin, such as Egypt.
In addition, the legislation will change and make it a criminal offence to remain in the country after an application for asylum has been rejected, while the government is mulling the abolition of the HELIOS+ programme, so that those who qualify for asylum enter the labour market instead of living on handouts.
The minister also announced plans to make it mandatory to submit to a medical examination to establish age, in order to prevent individuals trying to pass themselves off as minors.