Commissioner Bruner in Athens for talks on migration
EU Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner is visiting Greece on Monday and Tuesday for policy talks with the country, which has seen a surge in migrant arrivals from Libya in recent days, as one of the major entry points into the bloc.
Brunner will meet with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis and newly appointed Migration Minister Thanos Plevris, who replaced Makis Voridis after he resigned on Friday over an ongoing probe into illegal distribution of EU farm aid.
He will then participate in a session of the 29th Annual Economist Government Roundtable in Greece, where he will discuss the best practices that the EU should adopt in managing migration, taking into account the demographic needs of the continent, according to the event’s agenda.
On Monday afternoon, the commissioner will be at the Kulata-Promachonas border crossing that connects Greece and Bulgaria where he will hold a joint press conference with Plevris and Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Daniel Mitov. The three officials will then cross the border jointly on foot to visit the Officers Club in Promachonas, where they will hold a meeting.
The move marks six months since Bulgaria officially became a full member of the Schengen Area, alongside Romania.
Brunner is also expected to visit Libya in the coming days to meet with authorities in both eastern and western Libya, as part of a new EU push to expand cooperation on irregular migration control. The sea route from Tobruk in Libya to Europe via the southern Greek islands has increased in popularity, with more and more packed boats and old trawlers reaching the coasts of Gavdos and Crete.
The number of migrants rescued south of the island in 2023 was just below 800. In the first six months of 2024, however, arrivals shot up to 2,297, and now they are at more than 7,300 since the start of this year.
