The rhetoric being used is Marshall: Thanos Playvris, Greece’s recently appointed Minister of Migration, has called the arrival of refugees in the Mediterranean Sea as “invasion”. Many MPs of the ruling New Democracy Party have used the words “Hybrid War” and “Emergency”.
A large proportion of Greek media has said that the island of Crete is being “flood” by irregular immigrants.
Prime Minister Kiriyakos Mitsotachis has promised that Greece will not allow a new channel to be opened for illegal entry into Greece and Europe.
He wrote in his weekly Facebook post on Sunday, “Like the area of Everos in 2020, we will do everything necessary to stop them.”
But more than anything, politicians and media are mentioning the same year 2015, whey came to millions of refugees – mostly from Syria – to Europe.
But is Greece (and, with it, Europe) actually on a new refugee crisis like a new refugee crisis? All data indicates that it is not.
One hundred times more refugee in 2015
For the Halenic Coast Guard, the 7,336 refugees came to the nearby island in the first half of 2025. The UNHCR gives slightly more figures for the period of July 6.
Although it is about 350% higher than in the year 2024, the figures do not warrant the use of the term “invasion”.
In principle, the Crete size for the island will be able to cope with 9,000 or 10,000 refugees.
It is worth comparing the thesis figures with those from 2015, when one hundred times more refugee – more than a million – arrive on many small Greek islands, who search as lesbos and cos.
However, the social and political environment in both Greece and Europe is now 10 years ago.
Resistance of a new camp
Crete people, who welcomed about 4 million tourists in 2024, are opposing the construction of a camp for new refugees. There were also some demonstrations in the weekend.
As a result, the new arrival is being transported to Malkasa near Athens or near northern Greece.
Although the government has announced that there will be a camp on the cream, it is suspected whether it will be ready to bear the political cost of one.
Great food for those who seek refuge?
At the same time, the Greek Migration Minister only speaks “illegal migrants”, why he says that the bars are behind, and threatens refugees with less food ration.
Plevris claims that people are eating very well in attached camps and have repeatedly announced that their migration is not a “hotel” for immigrants.
The fact is that in Greece, it only receives asylum seekers. Those who are identified as refugees and whose refuge application has been rejected, but they remain in the country because they do not have anywhere else, they are not entitled to food supply.
Since October 1, 2021, shelter seekers, who are kept in camps in Greece, are fed by private catering companies at a cost of € 6.88 ($ 7.99).
Therefore, PLEVRIS claims that they are being served magnificent hotel-style food, very low exaggeration.
Migrants want to move forward
The minister, who used to be a member of the extreme right -wing popular orthodox rally (LAOS), is eager to portray him as a committed rival of “illegal immigration”.
Almost all new arrival, illegal in his eyes. He accuses them of wishing them to live a beautiful life in Greece at the cost of Greece taxpayer.
However, the fact of this fact is that 75% of the cost of feeding asylum seekers is borne by the European Union. Another fact is that most refugees and migrants do not want to live in Greece, but mostly want to move forward in western and northern Europe.
Shelter application suspended
Furthermore, the new arrival does not currently have access to an refuge process, which means they are not entitled to receive food.
After passing a new law for the last time (with the votes of the ruling new democracy party and MPs from the small, right -wing parties), Greece refugees are suspended from refugees from refugees, who reach the country’s ocean from North Africa for at least three months.
The law is controversial and, in the opinion of many legal experts, in contradiction with both unconstitutional and European values. Nevertheless, the European Commission has also not protested.
Plan to send back migrants
Now plevris is legally an independent hand for his plan to send back the new arrival without a refuge process.
“There are countries with which we can send them back, with whatever agreements we have, and others with which they can make voluntary return,” Hey claimed to the television channel Sky over the weekend.
But is this a real matter?
Currently, one of the three people in exile pending in custody comes from Egypt and according to the Greek Lokpal, anger can be sent back under the current circumstances. For this reason, the Greek government would like to make a deal with Cairo. However, the discovery of the agreement is not yet present.
For the Ministry of migration, most of the asylum -seemed Afghanistan (31%), Egypt (16.4%), Syria (6.2%), Pakistan (4.5%) and Bangladesh (3.6%), who arrived in the first five months of 2025.
However, it is suspected whether people who have not been given shelter or are not allowed to apply for asylum will be sent back to all thesis to the country.
Policy of autocracy
Despite all this, the Minister of Migration has continued to work on his policy of deeterlance and is doing a new rebel, without probation, a three -year jail sentence and anyone will get a fine of € 10,000 to refuse to leave the country.
But it is a suspect whether it will work. It does not seem that it will be a lottery that has escaped from Sudan, crossing the Libya desert and getting money for marine crossings from Tobrook to Greece on the banks of Libya.
Nor is it clear whether the hop will be. Can they be sentenced to another three years in jail?
But for right -wing voters in Greece, the plans of plevris are sound promising, and it is important for the government.
A deal with Libya?
The government already knows that the risk of prison would not solve the problem, nor did two frigates that Mitsotacis recently sent to patrol the coast of Libya.
Right now, a broken and divided Libya is the place where people who want to run away from the lack of wars, famine and possibilities of Africa, gather, are waiting for an opportunity to cross the Mediterranean Sea in Europe.
Less than 14 million people have not left war in Sudan and have gone to Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya.
The only realistic solution of the problem will be to reach an interval with two rival governments in Libya-One in Tripoli for Greece and Europe, which is international recognized, the second in the European Union-Turkish deal lines on migration from Bengaji-e-2016.
This article was the original published in German.
