Greece fears that Germany might reject migrants who sought asylum in the Hellenic Republic before travelling to Germany and send them back to Greece.
In addition to Czechia, authorities in Greece are also concerned that Germany’s decision to reintroduce border controls could have a domino effect in the European Union, Schengen.News reports.
According to local media reports, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is pushing a return of 30,000 Afghans to Greece and is offering Greece €15,000 for each immigrant.
However, a report from Deutsche Welle notes that such claims have not been confirmed by Greece’s Ministry of Migration.
Only 5% of the Population in Greece Sees Migration as Problem
According to a report from Deutsche Welle, only five per cent of the population in Greece see migration as the main problem.
In addition, for a period from January to mid-September 2024, only about 36,000 arrivals were registered in the Hellenic Republic. Therefore, at present, there are no concerns related to a migration crisis in Greece.
The majority of migrants that reached Greece in the first nine months of this year were nationals from Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria and Palestine.
The figures are significantly below those registered in 2015, during which year nearly 860,000 migrants reached Greece by land and sea.
Greece Says Spirit of Schengen Should be Respected
Related to Germany’s decision to reintroduce border controls, Greece’s Migration Minister, Nikos Papadopoulos, recently said that Greece wants the spirit of the Schengen Agreement to be respected.
Germany Claims Border Controls are Effectively Halting Irregular Migration
Germany’s much-criticised decision to reintroduce border controls is effectively helping the country to prevent unwanted entries.
According to Germany’s Federal Police Union, in the first five days since the new rules became effective (on September 16), about 900 unauthorised entries were detected in Germany.
The Deputy Federal Chairman of the Federal Police Union, Manuel Ostermann, said that Germany has acted as the moral of Europe for too long, opening its doors to people with little scrutiny and paying a heavy price.
However, despite Germany’s claims that border controls have a positive effect on halting irregular migration, the decision has been criticised by several countries, including Czechia, Poland, and Greece.
Source: https://schengen.news/greece-concerned-over-impact-of-germanys-reintroduction-of-border-controls/
