Alexandros
Arvanitidis, Head of the Department of Strategic Planning, International &
European Cooperation, First Reception Service, Ministry of Public Order &
Citizen Protection
First Reception
Service has been established with law No 3907/2011 and operates as a Directory
of the Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection. Its main purpose is the
successful management of mixed migration flows, who enter the territory
illegally in a context of respect of human dignity and in compliance with the
European and international legislation.
At the moment, FRS consists of the Central Service based in Athens, one
First Reception Center located in Evros (near the borders with Turkey), which
operates since March 2013 and two Mobile Units stationed in refurbished Screening
Centers of the Hellenic Police in the islands of Northern Aegean Sea, Lesvos
and Samos, that are operational since 1st July 2013.
If we take into consideration that a few years ago all the above
mentioned hadn’t been conceived even by the most ambitious mind, then we could
realize the length of the progress that has been made in the field of dealing
with illegal migration and conditions of reception of third country nationals
(TNCs) in Greece.
Furthermore, FRS is working feverishly to open its second First
Reception Center on the island of Lesvos, which is expected to be operational
in the next few months. Among others, FRS has a new mandate to operate Open
Accommodation Centers for Asylum Seekers, Unaccompanied Minors and Vulnerable
groups and several locations-buildings that will operate within 2014, have
already been identified.
FRS plans to occupy a sufficient number of employees in the central
service and the First Reception Centers (with a capacity to host more than
8.000 TCNs per year and a third FRC that will be under construction). Two fully
operational and staffed Mobile Units to cover the needs of massive flows in the
islands and several Open Accommodation Centers operating with a capacity enough
to cover the accommodation needs of asylum seekers and vulnerable groups.
Additionally, in cooperation with International Organization of Migration (IOM)
FRS will have another Open Accommodation Center for TCNs participating in
Assisted Voluntary Returns Programs.
In the long term, for the period 2014-2020 FRS has plans to increase
further its First Reception Capacity, as well as make any necessary adjustments
regarding the number of places in Open Accommodation Facilities with the aim to
cover all needs.
Trying to give a brief description of the First Reception Centers and
procedures, we would say that First Reception Centers constitute the competent
authority for the screening and registration of all irregular migrants, who are
apprehended by the authorities for illegal entry or stay in the territory. By no means do they constitute detention centers.
The irregular migrants, who are hosted within the premises of First
Reception Centers, can only stay there up to 15 days. That doesn’t mean that
they cannot leave earlier, if all procedures have been completed, but
statistically, the majority of TCNs stay for 12 days on average. Only in
exceptional circumstances for which due reasons should be given, can the
duration of stay be extended for 10 more days (up to a total stay of 25 days).
The reception procedures are followed in a context of respect of human
dignity and in compliance with the European and international commitments of
the country.
-Upon arrival TCNs are directed to a room, where they receive
appropriate and sufficient information ( also printed material translated in
ten languages-dialects ) about the place they are, the reason they are there,
the procedures due to take place in the following days, the facilities and
services provided and most importantly their rights regarding international
protection. There is also a representative of IOM, who provides information
regarding Assisted Voluntary Returns program.
- They all go through a first medical examination and they are provided
with psycho-social screening and support in order to identify vulnerable
persons and to address any needs they might have.
- They receive non-food items (NFIs), clothes and shoes, if needed,
clean linen and afterwards they are assigned to bungalows.
-The First Reception Centers are divided into sectors that include
bungalows for the accommodation of TCNs, dining rooms, entertainment-recreation
rooms, a prayer room and laundry facilities. Sleeping bungalows (equipped with
air-conditioners and heaters) are spacious (5 sq. m. per person) and have
24h/day access to toilets/showers and warm water.
- Men, women, families, unaccompanied minors and vulnerable persons stay
in separate sleeping rooms and wings and they are all provided with food,
medical care and clothes, if necessary. Legal advice and interpretation
services are offered throughout their stay and video conference equipment is
also available, in case of lack or absence of on-the-spot presence of
interpreters.
-The next days they are screened, registered and they are referred to a
competent authority at the end of the process according to the case: asylum
seekers are referred to the regional office of the Asylum Service operating in
the First Reception Center, UAMs and other vulnerable groups are referred to
open Accommodation facilities and all the rest cases to the Hellenic Police for
further administrative procedures.
- In order to maintain a high level operation of the First Reception
Service, a cooperation is established not only with international and European
organizations such as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the
European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and International Organization for
Migration (IOM), but also with civil society organizations (NGOs), which have
valuable experience working with TCNs.
As far as the Mobile Units are concerned, they are stationed in
refurbished screening centers of the Hellenic Police in Lesvos and Samos and
they are deployed for the screening and referral of illegal migrants to the
appropriate authority.
Their role is vital, having in mind that Greece due to its geographical
position with the numerous islands and the vast sea borders, has become the most
possible entry point for migrants passing through Turkey or even the Middle
East.
Regarding the Open Accommodation Facilities, the First Reception Service
is in close cooperation with the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and
Welfare for the operation of the open accommodation centers, which will function
within and through the National Center of Social Solidarity. Several buildings
have already been identified and the initial plans are proceeding without
deviations.
Considering the fact that the National Capacity of places in open
accommodation centers for asylum seekers and vulnerable groups has not been
sufficient, the Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection aims to
increase the overall places that would host asylum seekers and vulnerable
persons like unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, victims of torture etc.
In addition, a project with IOM funded by the Return Fund (European
Commission Emergency Action) is scheduled to operate aiming to provide
accommodation facilities to TCNs, who will cover not only basic accommodation
needs, but they will also receive emotional, psychological, educational support
and the opportunity to live in a secure environment.
First Reception Service faces a lot of challenges, among of which are
the country’s problematic economic situation, the fact that racism and
xenophobia have found ground to increase within social structures and the lack
of experience in dealing with mixed migration flows on national level.
Copying with people is not easy, especially those who are in need of
protection. Therefore, First Reception Service tries to make the most of the
available tool-box that exists, like Asylum Support Teams, whose help is
important in transferring best practices in reality and managing to keep a very
high level system with SOPs, policies etc. that are in the front line of
Europe. First Reception Service has a highly qualified staff that undergoes
continuous training and also participates in ASTs to provide support to other
countries deploying newly-hired asylum service staff.
It is of great importance for everyone to understand that migration
concerns the whole EU and not just Greece. Europe should reinforce its external
borders by using the key element of the Common European Policy on Asylum and
that is solidarity towards the countries that are most exposed to immigration,
like Greece, Italy and Spain. On the other hand, there is a series of issues
that are open and need to be addressed, such as burden sharing, relocation etc.
The entire above make the management of mixed migration flows a matter
of great significance for Europe and Greece and First Reception Service has
committed itself to deal with the best possible way to achieve its goals
towards that direction.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Mixed flows and Human Rights: The experience of the
Greek Ombudsman #
#
Vassilis Karydis,
Professor, University of
Peloponnese, Deputy Greek Ombudsman for Human Rights
Introduction
The so-
called “mixed flows” of immigration are referring to movements of people
without legal documents, including aliens in need of international protection
according to international humanitarian law as well as economic or other
migrants. I would also like to submit that I prefer to use the term “irregular”
instead of “illegal immigration”, because I find it more neutral, with much
less negative connotations and finally more precise. This is also the case in
recent years for most of the international organizations and NGO which are
active in the field, as recently the UN Commissioner Niels Muzniecks pointed
out.
The
Greek Ombudsman is an Independent Authority with constitutional status,
established in 1998. According to its founding law, the mission of the
Authority is to mediate between persons and the state and public authorities in
order to protect human rights, to combat maladministration and to safeguard
legality. In 2003, the Greek Ombudsman acquired special mandate for the
protection of Children Rights, while in 2005 the Authority was designated as
the Specialized Equality Body for the implementation of the principle of equal
treatment in the public sector. Recently, with the ratification of the Optional
Protocolle of New York (OP-CAT) by the Greek Parliament, the Ombudsman has been
appointed as National Preventive Mechanism against torture and maltreatment at
places of any kind of detention.
Since
its establishment, the Greek Ombudsman has been and still is strongly involved
with cases related with migration issues, including asylum procedures and third
country nationals’ rights.
A-
The “genealogy” of immigrant influx in Greece
1-“New
immigration”
After
the collapse of the “existing socialism” regimes in the Balkans, Greece faced a
massive and unexpected wave of irregular immigration, which turned it suddenly
from a traditionally immigrant-sending country into a host country of “new
immigration”, as other countries of the European South, such as Italy and
Spain. The phenomenon of “new immigration” is distinguished from the “old
immigration” towards countries of Central and Northern Europe which was
characterized by the “pull factor” of the need of labor force in the receiving
countries and its more or less legally controlled inflows. New immigration on
the contrary was caused by the “push factor” of economic collapse and impoverishment
of people, wars and persecution, and its main features are the great extent of irregularity
and the formation of illegal trafficking networks, the high absorption by the
informal economy and the subsequent deficit of immigrants’ social and legal
rights.
In this
context, new immigration faced almost from the outset distrust and hostility
all over Europe and was connected with serious criminality and organized crime
as well as subsequently with fundamentalist terrorism. Under these circumstances,
Greek society developed strong defensive reflects towards the massive presence
of irregular immigrants in the country, and soon a new Law for the Aliens (L.
1975/1991) was enacted, the provisions of which are solely dominated by the
aims of deterrence and punitivity for the irregular immigrants.
2- The
defusion of the phenomenon
This
situation could not last for a long time. The adoption of a ‘police philosophy”
by the Greek administration in order to handle a serious social phenomenon and
political problem as a “historic temporary accident” was obviously inadequate
and destined to fail. The acceptance of this fact came by the ratification of
two Presidential Decrees (358/97 and 359/1997 respectively), which allowed for
the regularization of about 200.000 irregular immigrants out of a then
estimated number of 600.000 people. That was of course a fragmentary measure in
order to rationalize the policy and ease the social tensions caused by the
presence of so many “institutionally invisible” people in the country. Finally,
a new Law for Aliens was enacted (L. 2910/2001), which moved reluctantly away
from the absolute ‘institutional hostility” of the previous law towards more
tolerance and preservation of basic rights for the immigrants. Consecutively,
two new pieces of legislation (L. 3386/2005 and 3536/2007 respectively) moved
further towards the rationalization and simplification of the legal framework,
in regard to the issuance of stay and work permits and the provided safeguards
against deportation and revocation of permits. At the same time, the mass media
diminish the rhetoric about the involvement of immigrants with serious crime
and, on many occasions, highlight positive sides of their presence in the
country, like their contribution to the Greek economy as well as successful
cases of second generation immigrants at school or sports and arts.
3- Second
Manifestation: “Islamophobia”
However,
towards the end of the same decade of the 2000’, it seems that a new social
eruption of strong distrust and hostility against the immigrants takes place,
as, once more, the presence of certain immigrant ethnic groups is perceived as
serious threat and the cause of major social problems. This time, the targeted
groups are irregular immigrants and asylum seekers originating mainly from
countries of Asia and Africa, who are increasingly entering Greece without
legal documents since 2006 and onwards. Tough immigration policies in Spain and
Italy and socio-political developments in Asia and Middle East, along with the
implementation of Dublin II/III Regulation have turned Greece in a type of
“storehouse” of European Union. A kind of “first aid station” for immigrants
and asylum seekers in order not to enter the “Hospital” of Europe.
Once
more, are observed big numbers of new-comers mostly irregular immigrants,
without any previous networks, usually without shelter and work, with high
visibility in public space, especially in the wider center of Athens where the
presence of the older immigrants was already heavy. In the particular case, the
moral panic which followed has also to do with the cultural parameter of the
Muslim identity of the big majority of the immigrant and asylum seekers
newcomers. The phenomenon could be named “Islamophobia”, not mainly in the
sense of the fear of the “radical fundamentalism” noticed in central and
Northern Europe but because of real or alleged peculiarities in relation to
habits and codes of values which differ and are faced with strong distrust and
suspicion.
B-
Immigration policies and human rights
1- The drift between legality and “illegality”
On the
top of that, the severe economic recession of the recent years has had negative
implications for low skilled laborers, affecting decisively immigrant
population in Greece. Today, the non-European foreign nationals in the country consist
of 1) immigrants with legal permits, 2) aliens who have asked for international
protection and have acquired temporary legal residency, 3) aliens who stay
without any papers. The latter are calculated to be about half of the over one
million foreign born population residing in Greece, which means about 10
percent of the total population.
However,
the reasons for the irregular status differ. For example, the number of those
who are unable to renew their legal permit because they were unable to acquire
the sufficient number of work stamps is rapidly increasing, which means that
they lose , as well as their families, the previous legal status. Another
category consists of asylum seekers, whose petition has been rejected but it is
unattainable to leave the country. Also, the serious issue of second generation
children when they become adults and lack the requirements for the granting of
legal permit. It is imperative that this kind of “irregular” categories must
find an institutional way out which would guarantee their basic human rights.
In all these cases, the Greek Ombudsman has submitted specific proposals and suggestions
to the administration in order to provide some kind of temporary legal residency
along with the basic rights that the nature of such a stay allows.
2- Recent institutional initiatives
In
January 2012 it was decided that the National Action Plan of Migration and
Asylum and National Action Plan “Greece- Schengen” would be consolidated in a
new Action Plan on Asylum and Migration Management. Among the goals of the consolidated
action plan are the operation of the Initial Reception Services and the
establishment of initial reception centers. Also, the recent Code of
Immigration and Social Integration moves to positive for the protection of
human rights direction, rationalizes to a certain extent the institutional
framework and provides solutions for certain previously unregulated “grey
areas”. Though, the implementation is already facing problems. For example, the
important one-stop-service must function more effectively and be promptly
equipped in order to be really productive.
Conclusion
To
conclude, it seems that the institutional framework as it stands, provides
certain necessary safeguards for the protection of refugees as well as other
categories in need of protection through the possibility of granting
humanitarian status. However, there is still serious deficit from a
humanitarian law point of view in the administration of certain categories of
people without papers (“sans papiers”) who find themselves in an “institutional
limbo” without any protection or guarantee for their basic human rights.
Something, which has also led the European Court to repeatedly condemn Greece (indicatively,
S.D v. Greece/11-6-2009, R.U v. Greece/7-6-2011, Rahimi v.Greece/ 5-4-2011).
Finally,
and irrespectively of the necessary institutional initiatives in order to
decrease the particular deficit, of major importance is the proper
implementation of the existing institutional safeguards for the protection of
human rights since, according to the long-standing experience of the
Independent Authority, the discrepancy between “law in books” and “law in
action” is still wide and in absolute need to converge, step by step and by the
constant awareness of all those - institutions, organizations and persons- delegated
and committed to that complicated, contradictory and thorny task.
----------------------------------------------------------------
# The Judicial Fight Against Illegal Immigration in Greece
Philippos Manolaros,
President of the Board of Judges, Court of Appeal of North Aegean
Greece, after the fall of the regimes in Eastern Europe, was the receiver of the first wave of economic migration (with migrant workers mainly from Albania, Romania, Ukraine, Poland). Later, immigrants from Asian countries were added (mainly Afghans, Pakistanis, Palestinians, Iraqis and Iranians) as well as from African countries (mainly Somalis, Egyptians, Sudanese, Tunisians, Algerians, Nigerians and Ghanaians). Greece is characterized as the gate of Europe for illegal immigration.
A typical example is the Aegean islands Lesbos and Chios, where a massive influx of illegal immigrants takes place. These illegal immigrants are spotted by patrol vessels of the Hellenic Coast Guard, which continuously carry out patrols around the aforementioned islands and spot the captains and operators of inflatable vessels smuggling foreign illegal immigrants. The operators and captains of such vessels are mainly Turkish citizens, while the vessels smuggling foreign illegal immigrants are small inflatable vessels (with a capacity of 10 to 15 persons) in which 20 to 50 people are crammed. The vessels in question, even their lifebuoys, do not meet the basic safety standards and legal specifications.
When the captains and operators of such vessels get arrested, they claim that they themselves are also foreign illegal immigrants. However, most have Turkish citizenship and point to those who took them on board in order to smuggle them to the Greek coast. For smugglers to carry foreign illegal immigrants from the Turkish to the Greek coast, the promised fees range from 500 to 1000 euros.
The main reasons that the Turkish smugglers plead for these offences (those who have admitted them) are economic (health problems, debts, unemployment, blackmails etc) and political. There are also cases of smugglers claiming that, while looking for a job, they were carried to the Turkish coastland and were told that the job promised to them was smuggling illegal immigrants to the Greek coast for a fee; when they refused to do it, they were forced to board the vessel at gunpoint, being threatened that they would be killed or through the use of violence.
On their part, the Greek authorities focus their efforts chiefly on saving the foreign illegal immigrants’ lives and then on protecting the sea borders of Greece. The arising problem is that when the vessels of the Greek Coast Guard prevent vessels carrying foreign illegal immigrants from entering the Greek territorial sea, the smugglers sink their own vessels in order to stop their return to Turkey, as well as in order for the issue to take on international dimensions and oblige the Greek authorities to allow them to enter their territorial sea.
The vessels of the Greek Coast Guard cooperate with the forces of Frontex, which – using a vessel of its own, as well as sophisticated equipment – spots the vessels carrying foreign illegal immigrants from the Turkish coastland to the Greek coasts, alerts the Greek Port Authorities and points the smugglers (captains and operators of the vessels in question) to these authorities, offering great help to the Greek authorities. The Frontex forces conduct patrols and only spot the vessels in which foreign illegal immigrants are carried, without however becoming involved in the operations for the arrest of the smugglers. The crews of the patrol vessels of the Greek Coast Guard are under the coordination of the Joint Search and Rescue Coordination Centre for foreign illegal immigrants. After they have been rescued, foreign illegal immigrants and smugglers are committed to hospitals where they undergo medical examinations and, afterwards, they are transported and surrendered to the Port Authorities of the aforementioned islands, which conduct a summary investigation. Then, the smugglers are referred to prosecutor in order to be prosecuted for felony offences and, afterwards, they are referred to an investigator in order to defend themselves. The smugglers are prosecuted for carrying foreign nationals (who do not qualify for entry into the Greek territory) from abroad into Greece - an act from which a danger to a human, or danger to human life could arise – as well as for entering Greece illegally. On average, twenty (20) to thirty (30) smugglers of foreign illegal immigrants go on trial for the aforementioned offences every month at the five-member, the three-member and the one-member Court of Appeal of North Aegean. No prosecution occurs for exposure (Greek Penal Code, Article 306) if the smugglers deflated their inflatable vessels, with the result that the foreign illegal immigrants threw themselves into the sea at the risk of drowning; this is because the aforementioned offence is included in the prosecution against smugglers for carrying foreign nationals (who do not qualify for entry into the Greek territory) from abroad into Greece, an act which could endanger a human or a human life.
At this point, it has to be noted that, prior to the amendment of the Article 88 of the Law no 3386/2005 “On the Entry, Residence and Social Integration of Third-Country Nationals in the Hellenic Territory”, the sentences prescribed for such offences - if such an offence could endanger a human – was imprisonment from five (5) to twenty (20) years, as well as a fine of at least one hundred thousand (100,000) euros. After the amendment of the aforementioned article by the Law no 3722/2009, an imprisonment of at least fifteen (15) years and a fine of at least two hundred thousand (200,000) euros are prescribed per person smuggled; if death of foreign illegal immigrants who are smuggled occurs, then a life sentence is imposed. As a result, very long sentences are imposed by the Greek Criminal Courts, considering that, on average, smugglers carry a number ranging from fifteen (15) to fifty (50) foreign illegal immigrants with their vessel; yet, the maximum sentence that is to be served works out at twenty five (25) years. The Greek State has passed very strict laws to be imposed on those involved in the illegal entry and residence of third-country nationals from abroad; these laws have been passed as a form of crime prevention, in order to prevent other persons who want to commit such offences in the future, from doing so. The convicted smugglers serve sentences in Greek prisons ranging from eight (8) to twenty five (25) years, while fines are not enforced, because they cannot pay them due to their economic inability. After they have served their sentence, their lifelong deportation from Greece is ordered.
Moreover, the networks of smugglers in Turkey use juveniles for smuggling, so that they are treated by the Greek Courts better, due to their infancy. Most of the networks of smugglers in Turkey remain intact and do their heinous work. About 90% of the smugglers from Turkey who get arrested, do not have any money to appoint a lawyer to defend them before the Greek Courts and authorities, as well as an interpreter. It is also worth noting that the Police and Port Authorities have arrested foreign nationals in Lesbos and Chios islands, who have been charged with, and convicted of, the offence of persistently receiving third-country nationals who did not qualify for entry into the country, from their entry point in order to carry them to the interior of the country, as well as of facilitating the illegal residence of third-country nationals in the country, acting for financial gain.
When the smugglers manage to get from the Turkish coastland to the coast of the aforementioned islands and to disembark the foreign illegal immigrants, some people of the same nationality turn up and receive them. These people, mainly Afghans, Pakistanis, Palestinians and Syrians, are asylum seekers in Greece and reside permanently in it – yet, not in the islands in question but in cities of mainland Greece.
All these take place for a fee, ranging from 1000 to 3000 euros per foreigner in order for him or her to be carried from Turkey; this fee ranges from 3000 to 5000 euros per person in the case of illegal immigrants from Syria, as smugglers exploit the needs of these immigrants, who have a good financial position and seek to save themselves and their families from the civil war in their country. Given that the coastal shipping vessels undergo checks by the Port Authorities, it is difficult for illegal immigrants to be smuggled in them, although efforts to do so are made by the smugglers.
In Chios and Lesbos islands, most foreign illegal immigrants trying to enter the Greek territory get arrested by the Police and Port Authorities, therefore their subsequent transportation to mainland Greece is not easy.
In the islands of Lesvos and Chios, the largest proportion of foreign illegal immigrants who are trying to enter the Greek Territory is apprehended by the police and port authorities and their subsequent transfer to mainland Greece is not easy.
It should be mentioned here that it has been recently approved an agreement for illegal immigrants between the EU and Turkey. Immigrants entering the EU illegally from Turkey or Turkey from the EU should return to their country of origin under the Agreement on readmission between the EU and Turkey, which was signed in December of 2013 and approved by the plenary of the European Union in February of 2014. The rule, which requires the return to the country of origin, will not only be applied to nationals of the EU and nationals of Turkey, but also to nationals of third countries who are either entering the EU via Turkey or Turkey by EU. The agreement contains obligations and procedures for the return to their country of illegal immigrants entering or staying illegally in either Turkey or the EU. It requires both sides to welcome back their nationals, third-country nationals lacking the necessary documents which permit their stay in the country and stateless persons who entered either in the EU via Turkey or vice versa. The Agreement will contribute significantly to the control of illegal immigration into the EU via Turkey, will help combat cross-border crime, especially trafficking in human beings and relieve the pressure, which Greece is facing and therefore the EU as a whole. Under the agreement on readmission, Turkey will receive financial and technical assistance from the EU for the development of border police as well as equipment for border surveillance. Turkey could thus keep more secure its borders with neighboring countries, such as Syria, Iran and Iraq. Before the entry into force of this Agreement, it should still be officially ratified by both the EU and Turkey. The provisions concerning nationals of EU and Turkey will enter into force two months after the completion of ratification, but provisions concerning third countries with which Turkey has not yet signed bilateral agreements will enter into force three years later. What matters is the political will of Turkey to implement the above agreement.
Finally, regarding the measures to be taken by the Greek State, these are the following:
1) Should be made a modern and realistic immigration law incorporating all directives of the European Union, which seeks to be decided expeditiously by the Administrative Courts or Committees, which will be set-up, which illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay temporarily or granted (or not) asylum in Greece; these ones who are not allowed to get asylum should return to their country.
2) Illegal immigrants should be recorded by the Greek state, so that the Greek authorities know where they live and where they work and, if they fail to comply, their immediate expulsion will be ordered.
3) The ministries should issue handy leaflets translated in all the major languages of immigrants, of which the latter can easily and directly get informed about their rights and obligations in Greece.
4) Also, competent agencies should be organized and serve immediately and fully immigrants about the process of authorization for their stay in the country and the process of renewal of residence permits. These services should be extended even across the country.
5) The Greek courts must immediately condemn cases of traffickers and not remain in Greek prisons, as prisoners temporarily, for a long time. The Court of Appeal of the Aegean identifies off-line hearings for cases of traffickers of illegal immigrants from Turkey, because there was a large increase in such cases per year, due to the sharp increase in recent years in the number of those illegal immigrants who entered in Greece.
6) The safeguarding of the maritime borders of Greece should be intensified. This can be accomplished by increasing the vessels of the Coast and manning them with more experienced staff, since the islands should remain vigilant round the clock in order to prevent entry of illegal immigrants in our territorial waters.
7) The EU should ask Turkey for the immediate implementation of the agreements concluded with this on blocking the transport of illegal immigrants in its territory through Greece. The European Union should lift the prohibition from the agreement "Dublin 2" or suspend it for a period of time, so as Greece to send part of illegal immigrants in some EU countries, which they need manpower, taking into account that Greece is the main gate of the immigration wave to the rest of Europe.
8) The reception areas of illegal immigrants should be improved with regard to hygiene and living conditions, to protect women and their minor children, as well as children who are in Greece without their parents and not all reside in the same space. Also should the reception areas be grown in more parts of Greece, in order to maintain a reasonable number of immigrants, so that the latter can live in a better way.
9) The purpose of Greek society is the integration of immigrants in this, particularly those with legal requirements to remain on Greece and get integrated with the Greeks, in a peaceful cohabitation without discrimination between Greek citizens and immigrants. However, with the current economic crisis, if no action is taken, Greece will run out of Greeks and filled with foreigners. It is a country, which borders to the east is also the border of the EU and it should be protected from us and from our European partners, working together, following a migration policy that protects the human rights of migrants arriving illegally in EU countries but also the rights of its own citizens, so as to avoid extreme behavior from both sides.