Research Institute for European and American Studies (RIEAS)
Newsletter on Immigration to Greece
Editor: Ioannis Kolovos


Frontex publicized its Annual Risk Analysis for 2010
The report notes that “By far the most dramatic change of 2010 occurred at the Greek borders with Turkey (land and sea), which recorded a 45% increase between 2009 and 2010. Here, detections of illegal border crossing soared on previous years as the dominant routes used by migrant smugglers continued to shift. The Greek-Turkish land border in particular saw massive increases in migratory pressure, peaking at around 350 irregular migrants a day predominantly crossing a  12.5-km section of land border in the Evros river region, mainly around the Greek city of Orestiada”.

The report can be read in full here (in English)


Frontex publicized its Western Balkans Annual Risk Analysis for 2010
The report refers to the six countries of the Western Balkans and focuses on the issue of irregular migration.

The report can be read in full here (in English)


Crime casts long shadow over Athens
The Los Angeles Times’ view of recent incidents in Athens. It should be noted that Athens’ Mayor Giorgos Kaminis admits: "I'm losing my city. Something has to happen fast. It's starting to look like Beirut in the 1970s".

The article can be read in full here (in English)


Chairman of the Supreme Court: ‘Illegal immigration is our gravest problem’
The Chairman of the Supreme Court Mr Georgios Kalamidas, speaking in a convention on Immigration and Human Rights, argued that illegal immigration constitutes the country’s gravest problem, even more serious than the economic crisis!

A relevant news report can be found here (in Greek only)


Illegal immigration comes at a price
Minister of Health Mr Andreas Loverdos claimed that the total cost of medical care for illegal immigrants in 2010 was almost 140 million euros.

The relevant article (Avgi, 7/6/2011) can be read here (in Greek only)


Some ‘legalized’ immigrants may not be so ‘legal’
Deputy Minister of Interior Ms Theodora Tzakri admitted than in the last 5 years more than 70,000 official document forms for (ex-post facto) legalized immigrants have been stolen from several public services.

The relevant article can be read here (in Greek only)


Unemployment much higher for foreign nationals
According to the latest Labor Force Survey (1st trimester of 2011), the unemployment rate of foreign nationals was much higher compared to the Greeks (19.8% compared to 15.5% respectively).

The relevant press release by the National Statistics Authority can be read here (in Greek only)

An interesting set of proposals regarding illegal immigration
Mr Pericles Nearchou, former Ambassador of Cyprus in Paris, puts forward some proposals on how Greece can tackle the issue of illegal immigration.

Mr Nearchou’s article (To Paron, 26/6/2011) can be read here (in Greek only)


823 illegal immigrants were voluntarily repatriated in 2010…
…while 132,524 foreigners were arrested for illegal entry and/or illegal stay in Greece in the same year.

A speech by the Minister for Citizen’s Protection Mr Christos Papoutsis on the issue of voluntary repatriations can be read here (in Greek only)

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