Research Institute for European and American Studies
Newsletter on Immigration to Greece
Editor: Ioannis Kolovos
Greece’s biggest selling daily newspaper states the obvious
“Ta Nea”, in its editorial, emphasized that organized crime, illegal immigration and violence pose an asymmetrical threat to Greece. In the newspaper’s view the country needs a new doctrine which will point out these national threats and describe the ways to tackle them.
The editorial (Ta Nea, 5/7/2013) can be read in full here (in Greek only)
Greece’s foreign population higher than EU average
According to the latest Eurostat data 975,400 foreigners live and work in Greece, representing 8.6% of the country’s population. Only 151,200 (1.3%) come from other EU countries while 824,200 (7.3%) come from countries outside the EU. The EU average for the total foreigner population is 6.8% while the average for the non-EU foreigner population is 4.1%.
The relevant Eurostat press release can be read in full here (in English)
15.46% of births in Greece come from foreign mothers
According to National Statistics Authority data for 2012 15.46% of births in Greece came from foreign mothers (15,520 births out of a total of 100,371).
The relevant press release can be read in full here (in Greek only)
Illegal immigrant inmates riot
Severe clashes took place between groups of illegal immigrants held at the Amygdaleza detention center and the police. Groups of illegal immigrants rioted by throwing rocks at the prison guards and set mattresses and their dormitories on fire. Ten police officers were injured and ten foreigners escaped during the clashes. 41 foreigners were arrested for participating in the riot and 8 dormitories have been burned to the ground.
The relevant article (Ethnos, 12/8/2013) can be read here (in Greek only)
Arrested illegal immigrants attack Harbour Police officers!
40 illegal immigrants of various nationalities were arrested at the Karlovasi area of Samos and were taken to the local Coast Guard station. There the immigrants attacked the Coast Guard personnel, pushed them back and then moved towards the local Police station. After a co-ordinated effort of the Coast Guard and the Police the immigrants were finally arrested. As noted in the Coast Guard press release, this was the first incident ever recorded of illegal immigrants attacking Coast Guard personnel.
The relevant press release can be read in full here (in Greek only)
Another step in the wrong direction?
The government is said to be preparing a new Immigration Bill which will facilitate the granting of residence permits to immigrants by uncoupling the residence permit with the existence of an adequate number of employment stamps. Such a change may result in the granting of residence permits to immigrants who no longer have employment in Greece, and thus can no longer support themselves and their families financially. It should be reminded that, according to the latest Labor Force Survey (1st quarter of 2013), the unemployment rate of foreign nationals stood at 40.2%.
The relevant article (Ethnos, 18/8/2013) can be read here (in Greek only)
Foreign workers constituted 38% of those working uninsured
During the 1st semester of 2013 the relevant checks showed that 38% of workers found to be employed without any social security were foreigners. This means that more than 6 out of 10 uninsured workers were Greeks.
The relevant article (Kathimerini, 20/8/2013) can be read here (in Greek only)
Foreigners constitute 8.3% of Greece’s population
According to recently released data which were gathered during the 2011 census, foreigners constitute 8.3% of the country’s total population. 1.8% come from EU countries while 6.5% come from countries outside the EU. Moreover, 52.7% of foreigners living in Greece are of Albanian nationality, 8.3% of Bulgarian, 5.1% of Romanian, 3.7% of Pakistani and 3% of Georgian nationality.