Economou tours Evros border fence with UK counterpart, says Greece’s migration policy is ‘tough but fair’

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Citizen Protection Minister Yiannis Economou and Deputy Citizen Protection Minister Kostas Katsafados on Friday visited areas in Evros border region where the border fence and other facilities designed to control migration flows are under construction, accompanied by visiting British Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

“We have a tough but fair migration policy that has brought results if one considers the situation and compares what we were facing in 2015 and in 2017 with how things are today. Always vigilant, always in a state of readiness, with constant reinforcement in both human resources and mechanical and technological equipment, with the extension of the Evros border fence that is a significant challenge, a major wager for the Greek government,” Economou said while visiting a part of the fence at Poros, Ferres in the Alexandroupolis municipality.

“You know it is our intention to erect a fence along the entire length of the river and, of course, to equip the fence with all modern surveillance means that are necessary in order to be as effective as possible,” the minister added, while praising the work of the police in Evros.

“I have said many times that the Hellenic Police here in Evros offer a very important service, not just to Greece but for Europe as a whole,” he said. Economou stressed the need to always be vigilant and ready to face whatever might arise, saying this was achieved by equipping the police with the right operational plans and information networks, while always operating within the framework of Greek laws, the Greek constitution, European law and respect for human rights.

He said that he had presented the actions taken by the Hellenic Police and Greek authorities for the protection of the Greek border against migrant trafficking networks to Braverman, while they exchanged views on managing illegal migration flows.

“Greece and Great Britain are countries with especially friendly relations, we have established very strong cooperation in a series of areas, as well as the area of security,” Economou said, saying he was glad of the opportunity to show his British colleague the very hard and efficient work being done in Greece in the field.

Braverman, on her part, noted that the Greek government and Greek authorities had been very successful in fighting illegal migration, which she described as a global challenge, and had succeeded in making real progress, creating “an extremely secure land border” with a sturdy fence that was built very quickly to act as a deterrent.

Strong police, military and Frontex forces are monitoring the border and ensuring that the law is upheld and, combined with cooperation on a global level, had brought about a drastic reduction in illegal crossings of the specific land border in Evros, Braverman added.

She thanked Economou for sharing how this was achieved and said she looked forward to cooperating closely to exchange knowhow and specialised expertise.

Source: ANA – MPA

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