The German government's decision to stop returning asylum seekers to Greece and to process asylum applications itself is described as an important step toward a renegotiation of the Dublin II Regulation, according to a statement issued by the government on Thursday.
"It is obvious that our EU partners begin to realize the extent of the problem faced by Greece being the main entry gate for illegal migrants and refugees. The systematic efforts we have made for the past months as the Greek government on bilateral contacts level and in international fora and meetings has started to give results," according to Deputy Labour Minister Anna Dalara.
"The basic elements of our policy are to show that the illegal migration issue is a European issue, to effectively manage the migration inflow, create integration mechanisms for the migrants living and working legally in Greece and to combat racism and xenophobic phenomena," the deputy minister underlined.
(ANA)
