Newly appointed Greek Minister of Migration & Asulym Dimitris Kairidis discussed ways to deal with the latest challenges in the migration and refugee issue with EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson in Brussels on Thursday.
The first important step towards achieving the efficient management of migration, said the Greek minister, was taken with the agreement on the New Pact on Migration & Asylum, reached by the EU member states at the Home Affairs Council on June 8.
Even though a lot more still needs to be done, he added, he underlined that Greece is “always in favor of finding more European solutions to common challenges.”
Kairidis and Johansson agreed that the migration and refugee issue is a long-standing problem for both Greece itself and the entire European Union, as the former serves as the EU’s external border.
The minister invited the commissioner to visit Greece and attend the Med5 meeting thet Greece will host in the autumn.
Frontex visit, Madrid meeting
Kairidis also noted that Frontex’s Deputy Executive Director Dr Lars Gerdes (responsible for EU external borders) will visit Athens on Monday, and so will the European Commission’s Migration & Home Affairs Deputy Director General Beate Gminder.
He also mentioned that the informal EU Justice & Home Affairs ministers meeting will be taking place in Madrid on July 19-20. Ministers will discuss progress towards the Migration & Asylum Pact, and stepping up the fight against drug trafficking and organised crime.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
