(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) Greece received support from many countries, both from the Mediterranean region and from central and northern Europe, for its position that the issue of illegal migration and its handling requires European solidarity that must be shown in practice. 
This is what Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said following an EU General Affairs Council held in Luxembourg yesterday, ahead of the EU summit in Brussels on June 18-19. According to the minister, this display of European solidarity could be shown through upgrading Frontex to manage the external borders of the EU – which in the case of Greece would mean greater presence of patrol boats in the Aegean – and the financial support to deal with the plight of illegal migrants. Bakoyannis stressed that immigrants are people with rights, desperate and lacking financially, who place all their hopes on a boat. Bakoyannis also stressed that Greece’s intention is for specific references to be made in the final communiqué of the EU summit regarding the repatriation conditions, with the agreements that the EU must sign with the countries of origin.
Filed under: Government, Greece, Immigration, International Relations, Media | Tagged: Affairs, Bakoyannis, Council, Dora, EU, Europe, General, Greece, illegal, Migration |
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