Published 1 October 2024 at 13.01
Foreign. Israel's war against Lebanon has already created a large number of refugees. Greece is now raising its readiness for a possible new wave of asylum seekers to Europe. At the same time, Greece's prime minister criticizes Germany for the country's new strict border controls.
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Over 100,000 Lebanese have already fled to Syria, and the number is expected to rise in the coming weeks. Concerns are now growing that Europe is facing another asylum crisis like the one that hit the continent in 2015.
UN Refugee Commissioner Filippo Grandi reports that the number of people fleeing Lebanon to Syria is rapidly increasing. There are fears that millions of Lebanese may be forced to leave their homes, and a significant proportion of these may try to reach Europe. For Greece, which is already dealing with an ongoing asylum crisis, this raises concerns.
Germany, which was a central driving force during the asylum chaos of 2015, has now chosen to introduce strict border controls to reduce illegal immigration and protect its internal security. The new measures cover the borders with, among others, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Denmark, and apply since mid-September.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has also presented a plan to deport illegal immigrants.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has expressed strong criticism of Germany's new direction and believes that handing over responsibility to other countries is unacceptable. He emphasizes the need for greater support for countries such as Greece and Hungary, which are located on the EU's external borders and face the greatest immigration pressure.Even Greek Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos has questioned Germany's actions and hinted that Greece may consider similar measures if the situation does not improve. He has criticized the lack of agreement within the EU regarding migration policy and warned that Greece may make its own decisions to protect its borders.
— If Germany is doing this, why can't we do the same? Send back migrants and protect our own borders? says Mitsotakis according to DW.
The escalating conflict in Lebanon and the ever-increasing refugee flows from the region have prompted European leaders to call for calm and try to prevent a full-scale crisis from breaking out. Mitsotakis recently emphasized in his speech at the UN General Assembly the importance of avoiding a large-scale war in southern Lebanon.