When the Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, visited Germany in mid-May, it was a welcome break from the difficult time he has been having at home.
The Economic Council of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, awarded him the Ludwig Erhard Foundation Gold Medal, which gave the conservative politician the opportunity to highlight his successes in growing the Greek economy by 2.3% in 2024 and reducing unemployment by 9.5% in the same year.
However, Mitsotakis’ meeting with Merz also had its downside, especially with regard to refugees and migration. In theory, the two conservative governments are in agreement: both are determined to stop irregular immigration to Europe.
Both have appointed known hard-liners as ministers responsible for migration: the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) politician Alexander Dobrindt in Berlin, and Makis Voridis, a politician with a far-right background, in Athens. And both have decided that from now on there will be strict controls on who can and cannot come to Europe.
Geographical distinctions
In practice, however, the two countries have very different interests. Greece lies on the EU’s external border. It is a first reception country for refugees and migrants dreaming of a better life in the richer countries of northern and western Europe.
Consequently, asylum seekers already registered or recognized in Greece have for years been traveling on from there to Germany, France, or Scandinavia.
So far, very few of these migrants have been sent back to Greece. However, the Merz government intends to facilitate their deportation.
There is now a legal basis for this, after the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig ruled in mid-April that migrants did not face any extreme hardships in Greece. The presiding judge, Robert Keller, said the yardstick for assessment was whether the migrants had access to “bread, bed and soap.”
‘Not very friendly’
Since this ruling, Germany could, in theory, send several thousand migrants back to Greece — especially young, healthy men traveling alone. The government in Athens does not want this.
When asked about the German court’s decision, Makis Voridis, the Greek minister for migration, said he did not currently have an application from Germany on his desk. “But we will not be very friendly toward any request,” Voridis warned.
According to the Greek ministry for immigration and asylum, 56,066 irregular immigrants were registered last year — around 155 per day. In the same year, a total of 219 people returned from Germany to Greece.
Only 473 recognized refugees returned to Greece last year from all the EU countries combined, including Germany.
So far, in 2025, up until May 16, there have been 114 returnees, 48 of whom came from Germany. Returns in these numbers do not constitute an appreciable burden for Greece.
However, if Germany really does decide it wants to send back an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 migrants who have traveled on from Greece, it will create problems for Athens.
30% drop in arrivals
The Greek borders have been quieter since the start of this year. By April, 8,295 people had arrived — a 30% drop on the same period last year.
“Thanks to effective border protection and improved cooperation with Turkey, the immigration flows have reduced by around 30% in the first four months, although the influx from Libya has increased by 174%,” Minister Voridis said on May 22.
Now the minister for migration is hoping for an agreement with Libya, similar to the one Italy signed with the government in Tripoli in 2017.
With financial and technical support from Italy, the Libyan authorities intercepted thousands of people who had already crossed the Mediterranean, and took them back to Libya.
Previously, the migration route went from western Libya to the Italian island of Lampedusa. Now, there is a new route from Tobruk in eastern Libya to the Greek island of Crete.
However, the Tripoli government does not control the east of the country. Although he has announced that he will soon be visiting Libya, Voridis currently has no dialog partner with whom he could make a deal — and he certainly does not have the money he would need to convince every militia in the North African country to shut down the route between Tobruk and Crete.
Indictment against 17 coastguards
In June 2023, after setting off from Tobruk, the fishing trawler Adriana sank off the Greek coast near the town of Pylos. It was overloaded, with several hundred people on board. An estimated 600 migrants drowned.
Reports by survivors and investigations by international researchers suggest that there were serious failures by the Greek coast guard.
Now, a Greek naval court has brought charges against 17 coastguards, some of them senior officers. They include the captain of the coastguard ship LS 920, which was significantly involved in the loss of the Adriana.
He is accused of causing the sinking of the migrant boat, and faces charges of “dangerous interference of maritime transport” and “failure to provide assistance.”
Furthermore, all crew members of the Adriana, two duty officers, and the then head of the Greek coast guard are accused of having exposed the migrants on the ship to life-threatening danger.
It is the first time the Greek judiciary has brought a criminal prosecution like this against high-level coast guard representatives.
This article has been translated from German.
