Minister says no plans for migrant centers on uninhabited islets

Alternate Migration Minister George Koumoutsakos said on Saturday that there are no plans to construct new closed centers for migrants on uninhabited islets.

Speaking to Skai TV, Koumoutsakos said a proposal had been made on the island of Lesvos for a nearby islet to serve this purpose.

“This requires larger structures… it will take too long, at a time when we are under pressure, this cannot be done,” he said, adding that “in any case the government has shaped its policy and it will go with it.”

He said that on Tuesday the government will proceed as planned with its decision to construct closed centers for migrants on expropriated sites on the islands. 

“We have reached a point where the country must deal with an emergency situation and it has already talked a lot about it with local communities.”