(GREEK NEWS AGENDA) 
Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Merchant Marine, Aegean and Island Policy Minister Anastasis Papaligouras recently signed a declaration for the supply of equipment with the European agency Frontex – an EU body created to coordinate the operational cooperation between member-states in the field of border security – to curb illegal immigration into Europe. The effective handling of illegal migration is a particular concern to the EU and, of course, to Greece, whose national borders are also Schengen area borders in their entirety and EU external limits for the most part. The need for action becomes more urging since, lately, increased illegal migrant flows have been observed at the country’s eastern – land and maritime – borders. Greece participates actively in shaping a common European Surveillance System (EUROSUR) for all external land and maritime borders, in building the European Patrol Network, as well as in promoting the creation of a European Coast Guard, which was a Greek initiative. Frontex executive director Ikka Laitinen said that Greece was doing what it should but was faced with an exceptionally difficult task that had to be carried out in a difficult area and a difficult environment. Athens News Agency: Greece signs deal with Frontex; Hellenic Migration Policy Institute: www.imepo.gr & Statistical Data on Immigrants in Greece
; Migrants in Greece: www.migrantsingreece.org; European Commission: Towards a Common Immigration Policy & A maritime Policy for the EU
Filed under: Government, Greece, Immigration, International Relations, Turkey | Tagged: Aegean, Anastasis, and, borders, EE, EU, European, EUROSUR, Frontex, Greece, immigrants, Immigration, Interior Mi, island, marine, maritime, Merchant, Minister, Network, Papaligouras, patrol, Pavlopoulos, Policy, Prokopis, Surveillance, System | Comments Off on FRONTEX Guards the EU Borders
Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis and his visiting Spanish counterpart Jose Luis Zapatero yesterday called for the creation of a common European Union coast guard to curb illegal immigration but stressed that the EU should not become a fortress against would-be migrants. “Dealing with illegal immigration is not an issue that concerns only the coastal member-states of the European Union, given that illegal migrants can move freely throughout the EU,” Karamanlis pointed out, while outlining a drive to create a European system for monitoring borders and a European patrol network. Furthermore, the two leaders agreed that a very effective way to minimize immigration flows is to increase aid towards migrants’ countries of origin in order to boost development. Other issues on the agenda included the creation of a Mediterranean Union, climate change, rising prices in Europe, renewable energy issues and bilateral economic relations. Kathimerini daily: 
Embassy of Greece in Poland Press & Communication Office 