Greece urges EU border agency not to pull out of the country as questions mount over migrant deaths
A dispute between Greece’s government and the EU border agency Frontex worsened after a trawler carrying hundreds of migrants sank off the coast of the Greek mainland on June 14th, leaving more than 500 people feared dead.
Frontex has also given Greece until July 10th to provide explanations regarding new reports of alleged illegal deportations – known as pushbacks – of migrants on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Dimitris Kairidis, the migration minister, said he would meet with Frontex officials in Athens and at the agency’s headquarters in Warsaw, Poland in the coming days.
“I think it would be unthinkable for Frontex to leave our country,” Kairidis told state-run ERT television. “They would be shooting themselves in the foot. Their main purpose is to the protect the borders of the European Union.”
Kairidis was sworn in as minister last week following the re-election victory of Greece’s conservatives. He confirmed Monday that consultations with Frontex had already taken place “regarding its presence in Greece – nothing more.”
