The German government wants to send asylum seekers back to Greece. Athens is opposed to such repatriation. Instead, it wants more EU support with border protection, and a migration agreement with Libya.
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.
News Credit : DW News
