Greece to Tighten Borders, Speed Asylum-Seeker Deportations
Greece's prime minister and his national security advisers decided Saturday to transfer refugees from overcrowded migrant camps on its eastern islands to the mainland and accelerate the deportation of rejected applicants for asylum without giving them the right to appeal.
A migrant stands amid tents at a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Photographer: Angelos Tzortzinis /AFP via Getty Images
Athens, Greece (AP) -- Greece's prime minister and his national security advisers decided Saturday to transfer refugees from overcrowded migrant camps on its eastern islands to the mainland and accelerate the deportation of rejected applicants for asylum without giving them the right to appeal.
The Greek government's Council on Foreign Affairs and Defense also agreed while meeting for several hours Saturday to increase border surveillance and to activate a 50-million-euro integrated maritime surveillance system that the previous government didn't put in place. Greece will also boost the coast guard's fleet with 10 new speedboats.