Greece PM bans all asylum applications and vows to 'arrest and detain' illegal migrants

The Greek Prime Minister has banned all asylum applications (Image: /)

Greece will suspend asylum applications for arrivals from Africa for three months, the country's Prime Minister has said. Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in parliament that his government would introduce the regulation from tomorrow (Thursday, July 10).

It comes following a surge in migrants arriving in Greece from Libya. Around 1,500 people have reportedly departed from Libya's coast and arrived in Crete this week. The Greek Prime Minister has now announced that all asylum requests from people arriving from North Africa will be suspended for three months, with those who manage to reach Greece facing detention in closed centres.

Kyriakos Mitsotakis said: "The government will use the same legal reasoning as it used when it successfully confronted the migrant invasion in Evros in March 2022. Any migrants who enter the country illegally will be arrested and detained."

He added: "As you know, yesterday in the international waters of Crete a rescue operation was carried out by a commercial vessel. The government's direction is that the rescued people should not disembark in Crete.

"They will head to Lavrio and from there they will be transferred to guarded structures of the Ministry of Immigration."

An EU delegation visited Libya to hold talks with the government about the recent migration flows. However, they were accused of violating national sovereignty by Tripoli, where the government is led by Russia-backed Khalifa Haftar.

Mitsotakis added that discussions with "both western and eastern Libya are ongoing and continuing". He continued: "The armed forces are willing to cooperate with the Libyan authorities to prevent the departure of boats from the Libyan coast."

Greece PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis (Image: Getty)

The Prime Minister added: "Let's all be clear and I will wait for the opposition's position. The government is sending a message of determination that the passage to Greece is closing.

"It is sending it to all traffickers and their potential customers that the money they spend may be completely wasted. Obviously our reaction will be legal and very strict.

"Consequently, we will inform the national delegation in more detail when the regulation that will ve voted on tomorrow is submitted."

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