Asylum service hit by overhaul
The bureau in Attica responsible for processing asylum applications will not be able to operate properly over the coming days due to staff shortages, authorities said Monday.
Officials said the problems have been caused by 30 former municipal policeman who had been assigned to the service being recalled. The officers were appointed to the asylum service after the municipal police was shut down in 2013. But the government has decided to reform the force and asked the officers to return to their previous posts.
The development comes as Greece struggles with an influx of immigrants. Alternate Citizens’ Protection Minister Yiannis Panousis Monday signed an agreement in Sofia, with his Bulgarian and Turkish peers, aimed at tackling irregular immigration.
