Panagiotopoulos cited an anticipated maximum of 50,000 new arrivals this year, based on current data, noting a marked difference from the 1.3 million arrivals seen in 2016. “Our current capacity nationwide remains at 60%, allowing space for any war refugees, though the islands are already under strain, with occupancy rates at nearly 100%,” he said on Action24.
However, Panagiotopoulos avoided describing these facilities as “temporary structures,” recognising concerns from local communities that temporary measures often become permanent. “In places like Rhodes, or potentially Crete, we’re exploring plans for temporary detention areas—similar to larger detention centres—but we estimate capacity for around 500 people per centre. Anything more would indicate an extraordinary, unforeseeable scenario.”
The prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, recently remarked on the “innovative” model favoured by Italian far-right President Giorgia Meloni, which proposes “offshore centres outside the EU for migrants with rejected asylum applications, if direct returns to their home countries prove impossible.”
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