Greece and Germany coordinating plan for migrant return centers in Africa
Greece is working with Germany on a joint initiative to establish migrant return centers in African countries, Immigration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris said on Wednesday.
Speaking to public broadcaster ERT, Plevris noted that talks are underway with “safe African states” willing to host migrants who cannot be repatriated to their countries of origin. He stressed that the initiative is being pursued by individual EU member states rather than the European Union as a whole, arguing that setting up return facilities outside Europe would serve as a deterrent to irregular migration.
Plevris also reported a significant decline in migrant arrivals in recent months, citing a 45–50 percent drop between August and mid-November compared to the same period in 2024. Greece recorded approximately 23,000 arrivals last year, he said, compared with around 12,000 so far this year—an 18 percent year-on-year decrease following a brief rise in July.
The minister attributed the decline to strengthened cooperation with Turkiye, which he said has reduced attempted crossings by more than half, as well as diplomatic engagement with Libya that has helped curb flows along central Mediterranean routes.
