Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Greece finishes wall on border with Turkey, amid fears of Afghan migrant crisis

Greece finishes wall on border with Turkey, amid fears of Afghan migrant crisis

Greece has finished building a 40-kilometer (25-mile) wall along its border with Turkey, amid concerns in parts of Europe that the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan could cause an influx of people seeking asylum.
Greek government ministers toured the fence on Friday and said the overthrow of Afghanistan's government gave greater urgency to their effort to reduce the flow of migrants across its borders.

The country was at the center of Europe's migrant crisis in the mid-2010s, when millions of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq traveled to the continent. Since then Greece has taken a hardline stance, rebuffing pleas from Turkey and international organizations to allow more migrants through its borders.

"The Afghan crisis is creating new facts in the geopolitical sphere and at the same time it is creating possibilities for migrant flows," Greece's Citizens' Protection Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said in a government statement after touring the completed border wall on Friday. "As a country we cannot remain passive to the possible consequences."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about Afghanistan on Friday, the Turkish government said.

In a television interview the day before, he urged the European Union to assist refugees from the country. "If a transitional period cannot be established in Afghanistan, the pressure on migration, which has already reached high levels, will increase even more and this situation will pose a serious challenge for everyone," Erdogan said.

The unapologetic stance of US President Joe Biden, who faces criticism for the United States' chaotic removal of troops in Afghanistan, has dismayed leaders in Europe who are now left bracing for a possible refugee emergency.

Thousands of Afghans have attempted to leave the country in the past week, since the Taliban completed a staggeringly fast takeover of power and brought to an end two decades of US involvement in the country.

Crowds of desperate locals have gathered at Kabul's airport in search of a place on Western military flights. Those unable to leave face a return to a repressive Taliban regime, which banished women from its streets and workplaces and used the death penalty for offenses including female adultery, homosexuality and the rejection of Islam when last in power between 1996 and 2001.

"It is our decision... to defend and secure our borders," Chrisochoidis said. "Our borders will remain secure and inviolable. We will not allow uncontrolled and erratic movements and we will not allow any attempt to violate them."

Even before the Taliban took Afghanistan, the pandemic had worsened the migrant crisis. A deal was struck between Turkey and the European Union in 2016 to halt migrants traveling from the Middle East towards Europe, but last year Turkey approved the passage of migrants into the continent, saying it had "reached capacity."

The two countries share a border at the northeastern tip of Greece, which is frequently a destination of asylum seekers who travel through western Asia.

There are also numerous routes into Greece by sea.

Last year several migrants on boats told CNN that they were pushed back from Greece, an accusation that Athens has repeatedly denied. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, urged Greece to investigate reports of pushbacks at the country's borders.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×