EU migration chief visits Greece, says returns are 'something we have to deliver'

Greece, a major entry point for migrants into the EU, has advocated for stricter immigration controls.

Transcript

00:00The European Union's Migration Chief has said that deportations are a key priority for the

00:07bloc as Greece grapples with a high number of people arriving illegally into the country.

00:12Magnus Brunner, who assumed the Migration and Internal Affairs post last year, stressed

00:17the importance of implementing the EU's new Migration and Asylum Pact.

00:22It's a collective set of rules to manage the reception and relocation of asylum seekers

00:27and was adopted by the European Parliament last year.

00:31The topic of returns also is something we have to deliver, definitely.

00:37And we will deliver, hopefully, I'm still optimistic, even though I just started.

00:42Greece, a major entry point for migrants into the EU, has advocated for stricter immigration

00:48controls.

00:50Greece is a country that has found itself on the forefront of the migration crisis for

00:55many, many years.

00:57We're happy with the progress that has been made at the European level in terms of a rebalancing

01:02of our overall European migration policy towards the protection of the external borders, with

01:08a significant emphasis on returns.

01:11Brunner's Athens visit follows a recent European Court of Human Rights ruling that found Greece

01:16had illegally deported a Turkish national, describing pushbacks as systematic.

01:21Greece denies engaging in pushbacks, maintaining it implements a strict but fair migration

01:27policy.

01:28The country recorded more than 60,000 migrants arriving illegally in 2024.

01:34It followed an increase of nearly 50% in the rate of sea arrivals over the past 18 months.

01:40But the EU's border agency, Frontex, said earlier this year that the number of people

01:44entering the bloc via irregular border crossings had dropped to a three-year low in 2024.

01:51For more UN videos visit www.un.org