Joint Statement of the Greek Minister of Migration and Asylum, Notis Mitarachi and the Federal Minister of Interior of Austria at Vienna, Gerhard Karner
The Minister of Migration and Asylum, Mr. Notis Mitarachi, and the Austrian Federal Minister of the Interior, Gerhard Karner, reached an agreement in order to hold a European Conference in Greece in 2023 in Vienna, following the Vilnius initiative.
Σε κοινές δηλώσεις που παραχώρησαν μετά το πέρας της συνάντησής τους, οι δύο Υπουργοί υπογράμμισαν την ανάγκη ενίσχυσης της συνεργασίας στη διαχείριση του μεταναστευτικού. Παράλληλα υπογράμμισαν την ανάγκη να συνεχιστεί η πρωτοβουλία του Βίλνιους στην οποία είχαν συμμετάσχει Ελλάδα, Αυστρία, Λιθουανία και Πολωνία και αφορούσε στην ενίσχυση των εξωτερικών συνόρων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης. Αυτή την φορά η Ευρωπαϊκή Συνδιάσκεψη αναμένεται να πραγματοποιηθεί στη χώρα μας εντός του πρώτου επταμήνου του 2023 με κεντρικό θέμα να είναι στην αυτή τη φορά ο περιορισμός των μεταναστευτικών ροών προς την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση.
In his statement, Mr. Mitarachi sealed the excellent cooperation between Greece and Austria in the management of migration, while at the same time he referred to the urgent need for a common European border management policy of the Union, in accordance with the rules of International Law, which will be a priority not only for the front line countries, such as Greece and MED5, but also all European countries.
Among others, Mr. Mitarachi confirmed the practice of smugglers and the routes followed for illegal travel to the countries of the Western Balkans, as this is a standard policy of the circuits and in the case of Greece, with nationalities coming from sub-Saharan Africa to Türkiye.
Regarding the practice followed by Türkiye the last days, the Minister of Migration and Asylum stated that the shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea and the shameful incident in Evros with the 92 naked migrants, increasingly demand the need for Türkiye to assume its commitments and obligations.
Mr. Mitarachi recalled, once again, in the context of the strong rhetoric followed in recent days, the obligation of implementation of the 2016 EU- Türkiye Joint Statement, as Türkiye committed to implement.
In conclusion, Mr. Mitarachi underlined the importance of finding solutions that will allow solidarity between all countries, while ensuring the fair distribution of the migratory load.
From his part, Mr. Karner thanked Mr. Mitarachi and Greece as a whole, for the effective management of migration and the fight against smugglers. In particular, Mr. Karner stressed that the biggest and common goal should be to prevent illegal migration flows and reduce smuggling networks. At the same time, the Austrian Minister, underlining the importance of strengthening European cohesion and adopting a common policy in the management of migration, confirmed that the system at the external borders is at the limits of its capabilities and that is why it is necessary to address the issue comprehensively. Finally, Mr Karner pointed out that new measures should be taken at European level and new regulations should be created to prevent incidents such as those that have come to light.
