[EN] ECRE WEEKLY BULLETIN (European Council on Refugees and Exiles)

Greece begins construction of the Evros fence despite European Commission's refusal to fund the project

On 7 December, the Greek Court of Audit approved the legality of the contract for the construction of a fence situated at the Greek / Turkish border, in the Evros area. On the same day, Greece's Ministry of Citizen Protection announced that they will now sign the contract with the contractor in order to begin the construction work at the site.

The Greek government has decided to proceed by national means with the construction of the fence, despite the clear answer given by EU Home Affairs Commissioner Malmstrom to the Greek Member of the European Parliament, Giorgos Papanikolaou, affirming that the fence would not effectively discourage immigrants or smugglers who, to the contrary, would simply seek alternative routes into the European Union.

Commissioner Malmstrom also stated that the EU would be prepared to co-finance other measures, should they be considered effective in curbing illegal migration into the EU.

The construction of the Evros fence is part of the Greek national plan to control migration influxes which contains various initiatives aimed at combating irregular migration and managing asylum and international

protection applications.

16 DECEMBER 2011

http://www.ecre.org/component/downloads/downloads/355.html