{"id":9956,"date":"2026-06-10T13:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=9956"},"modified":"2026-06-10T13:20:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:20:00","slug":"thanos-plevris-pressure-on-crete-reduction-in-the-aegean-stricter-measures-if-flows-continue-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/?p=9956","title":{"rendered":"Thanos Plevris: Pressure on Crete, reduction in the Aegean – Stricter measures if flows continue (video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Significant shift in migration flows to Crete is being recorded, <\/strong>while Aegean is experiencing a sharp decline, according to the Minister of Immigration and Asylum Thanos Plevris<\/strong>, speaking to ERTnews and George Siadima.<\/p>\n

As he said, “at the moment the migratory pressure is essentially only in Crete”<\/strong>, noting that in the Aegean<\/strong> arrivals are “zero”,<\/strong> with a typical example being that in May only 438 arrivals<\/b> were recorded from the Turkish coast, a number that now corresponds to daily flows of previous periods.<\/p>\n

Crete at the heart of the flows<\/h3>\n

The minister stressed that about 70% of the migration flows are now directed to Crete, explaining that this is mainly due to the corridor from eastern Libya.<\/p>\n

“Unlike in the Aegean, in the Libyan Sea, once a boat is in open waters, there can be no deterrence.<\/strong> This must be done at the starting point, by the Libyan authorities,<\/strong> he said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, he said that cooperation with the Libyan authorities to deter departures<\/strong> is ongoing, noting however that the results have not yet reached the desired level.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Structures in Crete – Problem in Heraklion<\/h3>\n

When it comes to the management of arrivals<\/strong>, the minister noted that in Chania there is already a temporary structure in Agia – and an exemplary one at that – where arrivals are registered and separated:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • those who do not meet asylum requirements are led to closed structures<\/li>\n
  • those who have a refugee profile are included in the asylum process<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    However, in Heraklion there is still a problem<\/strong>, as no space has been found for a similar structure, due to opposition from local bodies.<\/p>\n

    “If there is no solution, it is not excluded that we will move unilaterally,<\/strong> although we prefer a consensual solution as in Chania,” he said.<\/p>\n

    Deterrent measures and returns<\/h3>\n

    Pleyris argued that the stricter measures already taken have contributed to the reduction in flows<\/strong>, which reached 50% last year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    At the same time, he noteda 25% increase in applications for voluntary departure<\/strong>, attributing it to the fact that irregular migrants are now in detention rather than free residence.<\/p>\n

    New measures on the table – Possibility of suspending asylum<\/h3>\n

    The minister left open the possibility of additional measures<\/strong> if the increasing trend of flows from Libya continues<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    He said asylum suspension remains an available tool, but noted that the new European framework already allows for the detention of entrants,<\/strong> largely achieving the same objective.<\/p>\n

    “If necessary, we will go to additional measures,<\/strong> he said, noting that developments will depend on Libya’s attitude and the course of flows in the coming period.<\/p>\n

    Cooperation with Italy and Mediterranean countries<\/h3>\n

    At the European level, the minister announced that on the 17th<\/strong> he will go to Rome for a meeting with his Italian counterpart on coordination between Greece and Italy<\/strong> to formulate a common stance in case of a further increase in migratory flows<\/strong>, particularly due to geopolitical developments.<\/p>\n

    Return centres in third countries<\/h3>\n

    Mr. Plevris also referred to the plan to create return centres in third countries<\/strong>, noting that:<\/p>\n

      \n
        \n
      • the target is agreement within 2026<\/strong><\/li>\n
      • <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        As he said, contacts are already underway with non-EU countries, mainly in Africa,<\/strong> while he stressed that the new European institutional framework now allows the implementation of the measure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Political developments and correlations<\/h3>\n

        On the political level, the minister assessed that the key challenge for the government remains to address the problems of citizens<\/strong>, noting that New Democracy remains the leading force despite losses<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

        Referring to developments in the Central Left<\/strong>, he noted that in the coming period it will be seen whether Alexis Tsipras will dominate or PASOK will maintain its position,<\/strong> which, he said, will affect the political scene as a whole.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        Finally, regarding the possible creation of a new party by Antonis Samaras, he said that it would be a “different case” compared to other parties to the right of New Democracy<\/strong>, but expressed the assessment that the party maintains a strong core.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Significant shift of migratory flows to Crete is recorded, while in the Aegean Sea there is a sharp decrease, according to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9956","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\/9956","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=9956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.tomanifesto.gr\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}