(AP) Greece is seeking stricter European Union migration policies as it braces for a potential surge in migrants and refugees due to ongoing war in the Middle East, a senior government official said Wednesday.
Migration Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said the government is considering creating detention facilities on the islands of Rhodes and Crete after the rate of arrivals by sea has more than doubled, starting last fall.
“Based on current data, we project that by year’s end, approximately 50,000 migrants will have entered our country,” Panagiotopoulos told private Action 24 television. Existing migrant camps on Greek islands are currently at full capacity, he said, but mainland facilities are at around 60%.
