Athens, 16 December 2022

Chairman and Secretary of Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice hold meetings in Sweden on management of migrant - refugee issue

The Chairman of the Committee on Public Administration, Public Order and Justice Maximos Charakopoulos and the Committee Secretary Efstathios Konstantinidis conducted today an official visit to the Parliament of Sweden, in the context of briefing the Riksdag with regard to the Greek positions on the migrant / refugee issue, also in light of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the European Union. They met with members of the Committee of Justice and Social Security, which are the Riksdag Committee competent for issues of migration and then with the Chairperson of the Sweden-Greece Parliamentary Friendship Group Lars Mejern Larsson (Social Democratic Party) and other members of the Group. The meetings took place in an excellent atmosphere and there was an exchange of views on current developments in the migration issue, as well as on issues of mutual interest, such as Sweden's accession to NATO. 

On the migrant / refugee issue Messrs Charakopoulos and Konstantinidis pointed out that are country attaches special importance to the effective prevention and management of migrant flows and the protection of EU borders. Nevertheless, Mr Charakopoulos stressed that the new pact on migration and asylum does not achieve a fair and even distribution of refugee populations among th member states, disproportionately burdening the Union's borders, which cannot turn itno closed transit zones. Furthermore, he criticised the instrumentalisation of the migrant / refugee issue by Turkey and the fact that it does not implement the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016, regarding returns and the prevention of flows. 

Referring to Sweden's accession to NATO, Mr Charakopoulos underlined that our country supported it from the onset, as Sweden is an EU member state that has significantly contributed to European security and has long-standing links to the North-Atlantic Alliance. 

During their stay in Sweden the Greek MPs will also meet with representatives of the Greek Community and with the Metropolitan of Sweden and All Scandinavia. 

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