Greece roughs asylum seekers' laws

Greece was at the expense of the refugee crisis in 2015-2016, when more than 1 million people fled from war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa and went to Europe.

The increase in the number of asylum seekers prompted calls for countries at Europe's southern border, such as Greece and Italy, to strengthen their borders.

Since then, the number of asylum seekers has declined, but migration has met a sensitive political issue in Greece and Mitsotakis has pledged it will toughen its stance, follows Periscope.

“Designs will be more serious for those entering the state illegally or staying in our country if their asylum request has been rejected”, Mitsotakis said during the executive meeting Wednesday, where the new draft law on illegal migration was discussed.

Mitsotakis said the bill would also aim to speed up returns through a more efficient and just <x0-mechanism”. The regulations will have to be approved by parliament before they can be taken into effect.

Greece's influx of migrants fell by 30 percent in the first four months of this year compared to a year ago, as fewer people entered the eastern border with Turkey.

However, arrivals from the sea from Libya to the remote islands of Crete and Gavdos have increased significantly in recent months along a new trafficking route to the Mediterranean Sea. Thousands of asylum seekers, whose demands have been rejected, are trapped in Greece.

To accelerate asylum processes and reduce pressure on asylum systems, the European Commission proposed last week changing European legislation to allow member states to expel asylum seekers rejected if they can be sent to a third country considered safe by the European bloc. /REL/