Greece open to taking back migrants next year

Athens welcomes the Commission’s recommendation for the country to take back migrants.

The Greek government welcomes the European Commission’s recommendation that the country will begin to take back migrants after a five-year hiatus early next year.

“It’s a balanced decision,” Greek Migration Minister Ioannis Mouzalas told POLITICO Friday.

The Commission announced this week that it wants EU member states to resume the transfer of migrants back to Greece as of mid-March next year. EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said that “transfers should not be applied retroactively,” however.

Under the so-called Dublin regulations, migrants have to register in the first country of arrival and can be sent back if they move to other countries. But since 2011, EU member states have not been able to carry out Dublin transfers to Greece following two judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice which identified systemic deficiencies in the Greek asylum system.

While the country is open to taking back migrants, some conditions will have to be met for Greece to meet the deadline, he said.

“If the EU-Turkey deal on migrants and refugees works, and if the EU maintains its promise to help Athens, then the March 15 deadline is feasible,” Mouzalas said.

The Commission has signaled its commitment to increase help to solve the situation in Greece. On Thursday, it announced that more EU officials and translators would be sent to help clear the backlog of applicants from migrants and refugees stranded on the Greek islands, where many live in very poor conditions.

Athens would have favored a later deadline, Mouzalas said, but added that, ultimately, Greece is happy with the political compromise.

“They recognized that we try very hard to make things better,” he said.

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But not everyone agrees with the Commission’s recommendation. Dutch Senator Tineke Strik, a rapporteur on migration for the Council of Europe, the continent’s leading human rights organization, Friday spoke out against the resumption of transfers to Greece.

“In these circumstances, I find it astonishing that the European Commission is recommending something that would only add to the burden on Greece and may prove damagingly counter-productive on many fronts,” she said.