Greek PM calls for progress on new migration pact
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday urged EU countries to reach a consensus based on “reciprocity and solidarity” in order to make progress on the new Pact for Migration and Asylum, proposed by the European Commission in September.
Speaking during a visit of European Parliament President David Sassoli in Athens, Mitsotakis said that implementing a new mechanism would serve as a “common European response to a common challenge.”
Meanwhile, in a thinly-disguised reference to Turkey, Mitsotakis said that migrants and refugees must not be used as “pawns in a big geopolitical game.”
In March 2020, thousands of migrants and refugees who had been in Turkey rushed to the Greek border in the northern Evros region after Turkey announced it was opening its own borders to the bloc.
In his comments, Sassoli openly accused Turkey of seeking to “manipulate” migrants during the border standoff, while stressing the need for a new EU migration policy.
“No one wants to see an inadequate response to this phenomenon,” he said, “particularly the countries that are more exposed to it.
