Roundup: Greece draws up crisis plan to address irregular migration

Greek government was drawing up a new crisis plan this week to deal with irregular migration and the refugee issue as a "European issue, not a Greek one" amidst an increased influx of undocumented immigrants in recent weeks.

With the arrival of spring the Greek Coast Guard has been involved in rescue operations of irregular migrants and refugees fleeing war- torn regions, such as Syria, almost on a daily basis across the Aegean Sea.

Approximately 13,400 undocumented immigrants have entered Greece illegally since the start of 2015, according to Coast Guard data.

The number has tripled in the first three months of 2015 in comparison with 2014. Greek officials attributed the sharp increase in immigration to Greece and other Southern European countries to the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

If inflows continue at the current rate Greek authorities expected about 100,000 arrivals this year, Alternate Minister for Migration Tassia Christodoulopoulou said.

It is not an unprecedented emergency for Greece which for years has received such numbers on an annual basis as a key transit point for desperate people dreaming of a better life in western European countries.

The dream often becomes a nightmare and a tragedy as thousands vanish in sea accidents or end up living in desolate conditions with no shelter.

With no adequate European assistance, at the moment thousands of migrants and refugees are cramped in port authorities and police premises on the islands, or are homeless in central Athens squares with no food or healthcare.

Following a cabinet meeting on the issue on Tuesday government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis said that an emergency plan to deal with the increased influx of immigrants would be quickly put in motion.

Under the plan new arrivals will from now on be transferred from the Aegean Sea islands to reception centers in mainland Greece, where authorities will distinguish between migrants and refugees and provide medical care.

In addition, Greece intended to push for a solution at a European level, seeking a proportionate distribution of refugees amongst EU countries.

"The refugee issue is an international issue, not solely Greek," Sakellaridis stressed, a statement which has been repeated innumerous times by Greek officials.

The Greek official said that Greece needed European funding to set up appropriate reception centers and suggested stricter penalties for human traffickers.

Kammenos also stressed that his comments last month regarding the threat of jihadists heading to Berlin should Greece be destabilized by the debt crisis, "were misinterpreted."

It was not a threat but a description of a reality due to the sharp rise of migration, he said.

The new government's crisis plan has not received an enthusiastic welcome by opposition parties, Greek media and experts who did not see major differences compared to similar measures pledged by previous governments which were not implemented or proved insufficient.

Critics noted that a few weeks ago the newly elected Leftist government closed down migrants' detention centers set up by the previous administration and released hundreds of undocumented immigrants without providing alternative hospitality.

Now Christodoulopoulou calls on local authorities to allow the government to use any abandoned buildings for the housing of refugees and migrants. Endit