“Do We Want to See in Greece and Europe Scenes Like Those in Ceuta, Spain, with the Uncontrolled Entry of Migrants?
By Manos Konsolas
Member of Parliament for the Dodecanese
Chairman of the Greek Parliament’s Committee on Regions
Professor at the University of the Aegean
The events that unfolded in Ceuta, Spain, involving the uncontrolled entry of 50,000 migrants from Morocco – several of whom lost their lives while attempting the sea crossing – make it imperative for Europe to reassess critical aspects of migration management.
I would recall that, in early 2020, Greece faced a hybrid attack involving the attempted illegal entry of thousands of migrants across the Evros border, orchestrated by the Turkish deep state. The firm and decisive response of the Greek government, police officers and border guards prevented the incursion.
It is clear that the European Union’s management of migration must take seriously into account cases in which migration is weaponised through the organised, mass illegal entry of thousands of migrants.
The weaponisation of migration is intended to exert pressure either on the European Union itself or on individual countries – Spain today and Greece yesterday.
Its objective is to test Europe’s resilience and cohesion or, in this particular case, to exert geopolitical pressure on countries such as Greece. I am referring to the attempted incursion at Evros in 2020, organised by the Turkish deep state, which even transported migrants by bus to the Greek-Turkish border.
Similar attempts to exert pressure are also being directed towards the Aegean islands.
The European Union must introduce new rules to address such situations – namely, cases in which migration is weaponised by third countries or other actors to exert pressure on Europe or individual EU member states.
Weaponisation can be clearly identified: it concerns the organised movement and attempted illegal entry of thousands of migrants into European territory.
Indeed, in such circumstances, the lives of the people caught up in this form of exploitation are also placed at risk.
In these cases, as the Prime Minister rightly pointed out from the outset in his article for Politico, an EU emergency mechanism must be activated.
When migration is weaponised as part of a hybrid and organised attempt by thousands of migrants to enter European territory illegally, it must be made clear that:
- Asylum applications from those entering illegally will be suspended, and procedures will be established for their immediate return.
- A European mechanism will support countries facing such pressure and protect Europe’s borders.
- Sanctions will be imposed on third countries that organise and weaponise illegal entry in order to exert pressure on Europe or its member states.
Surely no one wants to see in Greece the same scenes that we witnessed in Ceuta, Spain…
