Main opposition SYRIZA-Progressive Alliance leader Stefanos Kasselakis met with the vice-president of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, in Brussels.
According to SYRIZA sources, Kasselakis stressed the importance of promoting a modern and effective Migration and Asylum Pact, which will be based on solidarity, reducing the burdens of first host countries such as Greece, protecting the rights of asylum applicants and dealing with traffickers.
He stressed that “especially in times of crisis, solidarity in hosting refugees must be mandatory for member states and based on a significant number of annual relocations, otherwise it is pointless.”
“Legal and safe routes with a fair distribution in the EU countries must be guaranteed, as well as an effective European return mechanism for those who are not entitled to asylum,” he pointed out.
Moreover, he said that “the new agreement must be oriented towards dealing with traffickers’ networks but, above all, the protection of the borders with respect for international law by the member states, so that the crimes in Lampedusa, Pylos and Farmakonissi do not happen again.”
Kasselakis emphasized, finally, that the dialogue on the revision of the EU-Turkey Declaration should also move in the same direction.
On his part, Schinas noted in a post on platform X (former Twitter) that he welcomed Kasselakis in his first visit to Brussels, and that they discussed the need for a “holistic, cohesive European policy for migration and asylum.”
Earlier, Kasselakis met with the European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni and the president of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) of the European Parliament and MEP of the Socialist Party of Spain, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar.
