‘The world has now moved beyond the naivety of previous years. Immigration has become a huge problem for all of Europe’, Georgiadis argued.
Referring to the political situation in France and the United Kingdom, he linked immigration to social unrest and the rise of the far right.
‘Look at what the French are going through. I feel sorry for this country, such a great and beautiful country. They are burning it from one end to the other, and most of them are immigrants. Is it a coincidence that Le Pen comes first? They see their country being destroyed, and that’s why they vote for Le Pen’, he said.
Georgiadis went on to praise the Greek government’s anti-migration policies, claiming that the country was in a far better position than the rest of Europe.
‘Immigration is a major problem for all of Europe. Fortunately, Greece is an exception. In other words, it is the country with by far the smallest immigration problem in Europe’, he claimed.
He credited Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis with this supposed success, arguing that ‘the Mitsotakis government has played a major role in this, because Mitsotakis has pursued a very strict anti-immigration policy from the very first day he was elected’.
‘Thanks to this government policy, which is very tough on border security, Greece has remained protected from this entire problem’, he continued.
Georgiadis also referred to a recent speech by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Pnyx in Athens, claiming that Rubio had praised the Greek government’s approach to migration.
‘In his speech at the Pnyx, Rubio made special reference to the Mitsotakis government’s immigration policy, saying that the rest of Europe should follow its example’, he said.
The health minister then expressed his support for the anti-migrant measures announced by Citizen Protection Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis, saying that he was ‘moving in the right direction’.
In remarks made the previous day, Chrysochoidis had sought to associate immigration with criminality and threatened police raids on apartments housing migrants in central Athens.
Georgiadis also outlined his position on migration policy, advocating a strict distinction between legal and irregular immigration and arguing that Europe should establish rules governing the admission of workers from outside the EU. His remarks framed migrants primarily in terms of their usefulness as labour.
‘The idea that someone can enter a country without having a job must come to an end. Europe must encourage legal immigration and establish rules for legal immigration’, he said.
‘Legal immigration has rules: you go to a country, you are invited, you have a job, you stay for a certain period and then you leave. Yes, but the idea that people can come from wherever they like in the world, enter a European country and live on benefits must end. Migration flows to Greece have fallen by 90%’, he added.
______________________________________________
Are you seeking news from Greece presented from a progressive, non-mainstream perspective? Subscribe monthly or annually to support TPP International in delivering independent reporting in English. Don’t let Greek progressive voices fade.
Make sure to reference “TPP International” and your order number as the reason for payment.