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Greek Policies on Migration and Asylum: An Exercise in Creative Ambiguity

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Book cover Irregular Afghan Migration to Europe

Part of the book series: Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship ((MDC))

Abstract

Depicting the experience of Greece from a sending to a destination and eventually transit country, within the EU, the chapter offers a brief overview of the policies and actors in place primarily in the period 2010–2014 in relation to the broader EU migration framework that impacts and structures them. Policies of exclusion and deterrence are discussed. Irregular migration is governed by the state and for the state through actors and agencies, and the present chapter will look at how transit develops, as a result of border control policies, deterrence measures and attempts to curb migratory flows.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    I refer here to a second process since the first set of policies took place during Greece’s membership to the EU.

  2. 2.

    The common problem with early attempts to record irregular apprehensions was double counting, particularly at the Greco-Albanian land border. Persons apprehended were usually deported to Albania and returned within a couple of days on foot to Greece. Thus, figures represent number of recorded irregular entries not people.

  3. 3.

    The years of 2005 to 2010 have been examined numerous times both in academic research (see Antonopoulos, 2006; Papadopoulou-Kourkoula 2005, 2008; Maroukis, 2008; Triandafyllidou, 2009) but also in NGOs and International Organizations’ reports (see Human Rights Watch, 2001; Human Rights Watch, 2008; FRA, 2011).

  4. 4.

    When the new asylum service was instituted, the Hellenic police responsible for asylum until June 2013 had-still- 45,000 backlogged cases to be processed. While Greece underwent reforms, after the ECtHR decision, transfers under the Dublin II regulation were suspended in 2011.

  5. 5.

    Interview with Law Enforcement Officer.

  6. 6.

    All data provided by Hellenic Police, available online at: http://www.astynomia.gr/index.php?option=ozo_content&perform=view&id=24727&Itemid=73&lang=

  7. 7.

    Kathimerini Newspaper. December 2011. EU will not fund Evros fence. available online at: http://www.ekathimerini.com/137519/article/ekathimerini/news/eu-will-not-fund-evros-fence, last accessed 20 January 2016.

  8. 8.

    All data provided by Hellenic Police, available online at: http://www.astynomia.gr/index.php?option=ozo_content&perform=view&id=24727&Itemid=73&lang=

  9. 9.

    Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection. 2013. Greek Action Plan on Asylum and Migration Management, Executive Summary Progress Report January-May 2013, available online at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/libe/dv/p4_progressreport_/p4_progressreport_en.pdf, lack accessed 25 January 2016.

  10. 10.

    Law 4075/2012, see Angeli et al. (2014a).

  11. 11.

    Data acquired during the research for the IRMA project.

  12. 12.

    ECtHR (GC), MSS v Belgium and Greece, Appl. No. 30696/09, 21 January 2011.

  13. 13.

    At the moment there are no cases pending in the 1st instance. However, there are 20,201 cases pending in the 2nd instance, the so called “backlog”.

  14. 14.

    Discussion with an employee of the Asylum Service, Spring 2014.

  15. 15.

    For a detailed discussion of the Greek asylum system and access to it in 2013–2014 see Pastore and Roman (2014).

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  1. ELIAMEP, Athens, Greece

    Angeliki Dimitriadi

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Dimitriadi, A. (2018). Greek Policies on Migration and Asylum: An Exercise in Creative Ambiguity. In: Irregular Afghan Migration to Europe. Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52959-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52959-2_4

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