32000 illegal immigrants in Greece disappeared after being rejected Greek Minister of Immigration and Asylum Mitarakis recently stated that the whereabouts of approximately 32,000 illegal immigrants whose asylum applications in Greece have been rejected are currently unknown.
It does not rule out that they have entered other EU countries through various illegal channels.
Mitalakis said at the press conference that since March 10 this year, Turkey has used the pretext of preventing and controlling Coronavirus pandemic and has not received deported migrants in accordance with the 2016 agreement with the European Union.
There are currently 32574 migrants in the country. His asylum application was rejected by the Greek agency and has been missing.
The EU and Turkey reached an agreement on the repatriation and acceptance of refugees in 2016. All refugees and immigrants smuggled from Turkey to Greece will be repatriated to Turkey if they fail to meet the asylum conditions.
The repatriation costs will be borne by the EU. The agreement also stipulates that every time the EU repatriates a Syrian refugee to Turkey, it will receive a Syrian refugee from Turkey.
This approach is to encourage refugees to apply for asylum through official routes to reduce the huge security risks caused by smuggling by sea. But Turkey has repeatedly stated that the EU’s funds have not been fully available. Greece and the European Union also accused Turkey of failing to implement the agreement.
In September of this year, Greece’s Deputy Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Kumusakos, pointed out that the Dublin Convention on which the EU processes refugee and migrant asylum applications is no longer feasible and must be amended.
According to the principles of the Convention, refugees or immigrants who apply for asylum from a contracted EU country can only submit their asylum application to the first EU country to land, and that country is responsible for reviewing their applications and being responsible for their living needs while waiting for approval.
Countries that have the EU’s outer maritime borders, such as Greece and Italy, complain that this rule makes them too burdensome.
