Athens annoyed by Germany's introduction of border controls

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis criticised Germany’s decision to introduce controls at its borders, saying such a move would endanger the Schengen Area, and hinted that Berlin’s current welfare policies may be to blame for attracting migrants.

At a meeting with the centre-right Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer (EPP) in Vienna, Mitsotakis said implementing the EU Migration and Asylum Pact must be a priority.

“It would not be right to move towards a logic of ad hoc exemptions from Schengen, with border controls which may ultimately not allow the free movement of citizens and damage the fundamental achievements of the EU”, the centre-right (EPP) Greek leader said.

According to government data, arrivals during the first seven months of 2024 amounted to 23,204, representing a 99% increase compared to the same period in 2023 (11,672).

Greece has been on the frontline of migration for years and pushed for mandatory relocation of migrants and refugees within the EU.

However, its position was not reflected in the revised EU Asylum and Migration Pact, as northern EU countries—including Germany—opposed it.

Instead, the logic of “mandatory solidarity” was established.

In practice, this means that other EU countries are not obliged to accept refugees but are instead obliged to provide first-line countries with assistance in kind.

Mitsotakis said Greece already spends significant resources to guard its borders, which is also supported by the EU, and this support “should continue.”

Regarding Germany’s situation, the Greek leader said it is not his job to indicate to any European member state what benefits it offers and the social policy it applies.

“The reality is that today there are countries in Europe that attract not only illegal immigrants but also refugees, who have refugee status in one European country and move – as they have a legal right to do – in another European country”, he said.

“This is something that should concern Germany itself, and it is certainly not our job to indicate, which has constitutional limitations, how the welfare state will be organised”, he added.

Local media in Athens quoted government sources as saying that “Germany itself created the problem” by offering attractive benefits for migrants and “therefore it must solve it alone, without burdening the other EU member states”.

[Edited by Alice Taylor-Braçe]