Brussels, 25/10/2010 (Agence Europe) - In the first move of its kind, Greece called on the European Union on Sunday 24 October to deploy surveillance patrols on the border between Greece and Turkey, where an unprecedented influx of illegal immigrants has been registered in recent months. On Monday 25 October, the European Commission promised to do all in its power to deploy these teams “as quickly as possible”, the spokesperson to Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, announced. He clarified that these will consist of experienced border-guards from the member states. They will be armed, but may use their weapons only in self defence. They will work under the aegis of the Greek state and may act only in the presence of a representative of the Greek authorities and in full respect of international law on migrants, he explained.
In line with Regulation 863/2007 of 11 July 2007 instituting a mechanism to create rapid border intervention teams, the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (FRONTEX) may, for a limited period, deploy one or more rapid intervention teams on the borders on the territory of a requesting member state. The member state requesting this mechanism must be faced with a situation which is “urgent and exceptional” in nature, such as the “arrival at points of the external borders of large numbers of third-country nationals trying to enter the territory of a member state illegally”. The director of Frontex must make a decision “no more than five working days after receiving the request”, according to the regulation.
“A mass influx of third-country nationals trying to enter the territory of the country illegally, with the objective of reaching other countries of the EU, has been observed on a daily basis on the land border between Greece and Turkey”, Greece explained.
Cooperation with Turkey? The Commission has made good progress with Turkey in talks on a readmission agreement. The Council has yet to enshrine the text of the readmission agreement, and “this will be a useful instrument to guarantee Turkey's cooperation in the fight against illegal immigration on the border with Greece”, the Commission notes.
And the division of the financial burden? Greece is one of the main beneficiaries of the four funds available for the management of migratory flows. Greece receives: €18 million from the European Refugee Fund (2008-2013 period), €8 million under the heading of increasing its hosting capacity, €20 million under the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals (2007-2030 period), €180 million under the External Borders Fund (2007-2030) and €97 million under the returns fund (2008-2013). “There is already a very strong commitment on the part of Commission to help Greece to face the extremely high and growing pressure on the borders of the country”, the Commission stressed.
According to Frontex, nearly three quarters of the 40,977 people intercepted on the borders of the EU in the first half of 2008 entered via Greece, mainly from Turkey. Stricter rules have led many illegal immigrants trying to get in via Italy, Spain or Malta to detour via Greece. (L.C./transl.fl)