On 15 and 16 October 2015, Luxembourg Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Minister of Immigration and Asylum, Jean Asselborn, joined European Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs, Dimitris Avramopoulos in Greece to assess the refugee crisis on the ground.
In a similar context to visits to Rome and Lampedusa, where the two politicians waved off the first refugees to be relocated under the new Commission mechanism, last week's visit to Athens and Mytilene on the island of Lesbos presented an opportunity to take stock of the European response to the refugee crisis and the impact of the decisions taken at the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Councils of September and October.
In Athens, Minister Asselborn met with the Greek Deputy Prime Minister for Immigration, Yiannis Mouzalas, in order to assess the situation on the ground in Greece. The Minister also met with officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the European Asylum Support Office (AAIB/EASO), and Frontex to exchange information in this context.
The Minister and Commissioner Avramopoulos then travelled to the island of Lesbos to visit the Moria reception and registration centre for refugees who have arrived on the Greek island coast. There they met with local authorities, Frontex field teams and EASO, members of staff of the UNHCR and OIM UN agencies, as well as the coast guard and port authorities in order to get an insight into the current situation.
"The foundations are laid, we are on track, and I want to commend the work of the teams onsite, but further efforts are needed for the system to gain effectiveness in the field and so that relocation can regularly take place," commented Minister Asselborn, emphasising the urgent need to deploy additional personnel to Frontex from Member States, in accordance with commitments made at the JHA Council on 8 October.
The Luxembourg Minister also stressed the importance of strengthening education among migrants in the fight against misinformation, decreeing it "necessary that migrants comply with the legal procedures and file their asylum application there, otherwise not only will the relocation mechanism not work, but they cannot legalise their presence in Europe".
Top photo by Thomas Barbancey (Moria Reception and Refugee Centre)
Bottom Photo by MAEE (L-R: Ms Tsirigoti, General of the Hellenic Police; Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs; Yiannis Mouzalas, Greek Deputy Minister for Immigration)
