Greece announces new Migration and Asylum Ministry
A new Ministry of Migration and Asylum was announced by the government on Wednesday as part of its efforts to accelerate the implementation of policy.
The new ministry will be led by Notis Mitarakis, who had until now served as deputy minister of labor and social affairs. The government’s decision came just six months after it had scrapped the ministry.
The decision was made amid a constant increase in migrant flows, which were compounded by the fact that the asylum application system could not keep up.
As a result, camps on the islands of the eastern Aegean became overly congested, sparking the ire of local communities. The transfers of migrants to the mainland from the islands were also a source of local consternation.
SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras criticized Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis for scrapping the ministry, which had been established by his government. “It took six months and seven days to realize the mess he created,” Tsipras tweeted.
