The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, along with the Minister of Migration and Asylum, Notis Mitarachi, participated via teleconference today in the Jumbo Council of EU Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Ministers for Home Affairs, whose subject was the external dimension of the European Union’s migration policy, as this will be provided for in the new Migration and Asylum Pact. Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Varvitsiotis stressed the importance of greater cooperation on the European level to shape a functional return system. He also suggested for the EU to capitalise on the tools it has in order to draw up functional readmission agreements with Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mr. Varvitsiotis also pointed out that the external dimension of migration is an issue on which we must collaborate in the EU in order to create a functional return system. So as to facilitate returns, he said, we need to use our capabilities in relation to third countries, especially with regard to European funding, underscoring that funding needs to be linked to performance in the migration sector. The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs also welcomed the Portuguese presidency’s initiative in emphasising the countries of Africa. Finally, he referred to Afghanistan and Pakistan, noting that these are countries that are of interest to us, especially with regard to the Eastern Mediterranean route. He expressed the view that more can be done. Regarding Afghanistan, the implementation of a new joint migration-cooperation statement agreed between the EU and Afghanistan, as well as the full implementation of the readmission agreement with Pakistan, must be conditions for a future dialogue on migration. The Minister of Migration and Asylum stressed that Turkey is a safe third country, not just for those coming from Syria, but for all refugees. For this reason, he said, strict implementation of the EU-Turkey Joint Statement must be the only functional tool for better cooperation with Turkey, so that we can avoid recurrence of the conditions that led to the crisis in Evros a year ago. “A cooperation that must directly link recompense with the correct implementation of the EU-Turkey Joint Statement,” he concluded. Mr. Mitarachi underscored the extreme importance of the EU-Turkey cooperation in the sector of managing migration flows on the Eastern Mediterranean route. He then stated that, for Greece and Europe, the key is Turkey honouring its commitments deriving from the EU-Turkey Joint Statement. At this point, Mr. Mitarachi mentioned that Greece is still awaiting Turkey’s response to a request to return 1,453 migrants.
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