opposition<\/b> is still searching for a position.<\/p>\nThe images from Belfast are not just another news story from abroad. They are a warning to all of Europe. <\/b><\/p>\n
The clashes, the arson attacks on migrant housing, the hundreds of protesters in the streets, and the social tension that followed the knife attack by a Sudanese refugee brought the major European question back into the spotlight: Can Europe continue to manage migration using the same approaches as in recent years?<\/b><\/p>\n
In many countries, the answer is no. Governments that, until a few years ago, spoke exclusively of integration policies, are now discussing returns, closed facilities, third safe countries, and stricter border controls.<\/p>\n
Greece has been on the front lines of this problem for years. And Kyriakos Mitsotakis\u2019s government argues that it cannot wait until everyone agrees before taking action.<\/p>\n
Clash in Parliament<\/b><\/h3>\n
The recent passage of the bill by the Ministry of Migration clearly highlighted the differences between the government and the opposition. The provision allowing for the creation of closed detention centers in third countries <\/b>was voted for only by New Democracy, while the other parties either voted against it or remained neutral. <\/p>\n
The Minister of Migration and Asylum Thanos Plevris<\/b> vigorously defended this decision, arguing that Greece needs deterrence tools and not policies that act as an incentive for new illegal arrivals.<\/p>\n
His criticism of PASOK<\/b> was particularly sharp. Mr. Plevris recalled that the party had supported the new Migration Pact at the European level, but chose to abstain on the implementing law in the Greek Parliament, leaving room for accusations of political hypocrisy.<\/b> <\/p>\n
For the government, the dilemma is clear: if facilities in third countries, returns, and stricter border surveillance are rejected, what is the alternative proposal? So far, the opposition has not presented a comprehensive response.<\/p>\n
Kyriakos Mitsotakis<\/b> has staked his political capital on the view that the country must effectively protect its borders, speed up asylum procedures, and return those who are not entitled to international protection. <\/p>\n
The government\u2019s rationale is that protecting genuine refugees cannot be confused with tolerating illegal immigration. That is why Athens now supports policies that just a few years ago would have been considered unthinkable at the European level, but are now being adopted by an increasing number of countries.<\/p>\n
The events in Belfast reinforce the arguments of those who contend that social cohesion is threatened when governments lose control of migration flows. The government believes that preventing such phenomena requires rules, oversight, and clear policy decisions.<\/p>\n
Latinopoulou pushes<\/b>
<\/h3>\n
At the same time, Afroditi Latinopoulou<\/b>, in response to the incidents in Belfast, spoke of a \u201cwarning for the future of Europe\u201d and called for even tougher measures. Among other things, she proposed stricter border controls, a review of granted asylum cases, immediate deportations, and the creation of closed detention facilities until return procedures are completed, otherwise he warned that if \u201cIslamic fanaticism and uncontrolled illegal immigration\u201d are not stopped, \u201cutter chaos\u201d will prevail.<\/b><\/p>\n
The difference with New Democracy is that the government is already implementing policies to curb illegal flows within the European and international framework, while Ms. Latinopoulou\u2019s rhetoric is based primarily on criticizing European policies and demanding even stricter measures.<\/p>\n
What is certain is that migration is making a strong comeback as the focal point of political debate. And as long as Europe sees images like those from Belfast, the voices calling for more effective border control will only grow louder.<\/b> In Greece, the Mitsotakis government is the only force proposing concrete solutions, while the opposition continues to search for a common line on one of the most difficult issues of our time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The unrest in Belfast has reignited the broader European debate on borders, security, and the management of irregular migration flows.
\n…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10291,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}