Minister vows to extend Evros border fence by 80km

Greece’s border fence on the northeastern border with Turkey will be extended by approximately 80 kilometers, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis reiterated on Friday, saying Greece cannot be a free-for-all and that Turkey is not a country at war.

“We cannot talk about a closed Europe, but we also cannot have a Europe where it’s the traffickers who decide who gets in,” he said.

“Humanitarianism is very important, but there are millions of people who want to get into the EU because of the inequalities in the world.”

Referring to the recent rescue of irregular immigrants from a small islet in the Evros River, Mitarakis countered claims from main opposition SYRIZA that the islet is Greek territory, saying that army ordinance and the cadaster maps showed otherwise.