Brussels, 30/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 29 April, Greece opened its first detention centre for illegal migrants, with Athens also planning to build some 50 centres by 2013, the Greek media reported on Monday. This new detention centre, which is located to the north-west of the capital, in Amygdaleza, is expected to hold up to 1,200 people by mid-May, said the minister for the protection of the citizens, Michalis Chrysochoidis, and has received funding from the EU.
Greece is subject to a European action plan which requires it, amongst other things, to implement a raft of measures to improve the situation for migrants entering the country illegally and, in general, to fight illegal immigration. Through its border with Turkey, Greece is the main point of entry for illegal migrants into the EU. Earlier this month, at a meeting with European Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, the minister also said that work to build a barbed wire fence between Greece and Turkey was continuing. This “wall”, which aims to prevent migrants present on Turkish soil from getting into Greece, is expected to be operational by the summer. (SP/transl.fl)