EU
ministers express concern – for irregular migration
Many fear
that the conflict may not remain contained to the region.
EU
migration and interior ministers from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain
expressed concerns at the Med 5 meeting in the northern Greek city of
Thessaloniki last weekend that the situation in Israel and Gaza could trigger a
new wave of migration to Europe.
Greek
Migration and Asylum minister Dimitris Kairidis, who hosted the sixth
meeting of the Med 5, noted that already most of the recent migrants
crossing into Greece came from Gaza.
"As
if the multitude of flashpoints in northern Africa and Syria were not pushing
thousands of migrants and refugees to Europe already, now this," the Greek
conservative minister commented.
This
year, Greece says it has already counted more than double the 18,780 irregular
migrant entries that authorities had logged for all of 2022. Palestinians now
account for 22% of irregular entries to Greece, according to UN figures.
Last
year, scores of Palestinians risked their life crossing the Mediterranean sea,
with shipwrecks around Cyprus and near the maritime border of Greece and Turkey
costing many lives.
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