Right after the historic developments in Syria over the weekend and the fall of the Assad regime, Greece has decided to freeze decisions on asylum requests submitted by Syrian refugees.
According to the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, there are currently approximately 9,000 Syrian applications pending.
In an exclusive report by daily tovima.gr published on its website on Monday, sources from the Migration Ministry said that “they are no longer considered as refugees, following the latest developments.”
Earlier on Monday, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said during the daily briefing that the competent services are on standby, made a reference to those syrian refugees who now want to return to their homes following the recent developments.
“The return to democratic normality makes us be cautiously optimistic, to expect the possible return of many refugees, people who suffered due to the situation in Syria. May the way be opened for the smooth return of Syrian refugees to their homes,” the spokesman stressed.
He appeared optimistic that Athens is not concerned of new refugees flows.
“Beyond our expectation for the safe return of refugees to Syria, it is a given that Greece has a reception mechanism with far fewer structures, but much safer ones. It continues and follows a strict, but fair migration policy. There does not seem to be any reason for concern, our expectation is that the opposite will happen,” he noted.
Greece is reportedly awaiting the guidelines that will be issued by the EU on this specific issue. Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos is expected to meet with the new EU Commissioner for Home Affairs.
It should be recalled that We remind you that on Wednesday and Thursday there is a council of European Ministers of the Interior and Migration in Brussels on upcoming Wednesday and Thursday, December 11-12, 2024.
Greece follows in the footsteps of Germany and Austria on the issue of Syrian refugees.
According to a report by German magazine Der Spiegel, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) has temporarily suspended all asylum application procedures from Syrians following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
According to reports coming form turkey, thousands of Syrian refugees are returning home.
