Issue No. 13363

 

GREECE is striking out in a new direction in its immigration thinking and policymaking, Prime Minister George Papandreou told hundreds of government delegates from around the world meeting in Athens for the Global Forum on Migration and Development. 

“The issue of immigration is close to every Greek’s heart,” Papandreou said on November 4. “I can easily say there is no Greek who hasn’t been either a migrant or a refugee.”

 

Immigration policy reform is one of the socialist government’s top priorities, said Papandreou, whose leadership is viewed by most pundits and political insiders as an opportunity for the country’s hundreds of thousands of immigrants and refugees to put down roots in Greece.

 

Papandreou, who has repeatedly stated his commitment to overhauling existing legislation, announced plans for Greece to become more generous with issuing permanent and long-term residence permits to non-European Union nationals and granting them the right to vote in local government elections. Another top priority is granting Greek citizenship to the Greece-born children of immigrants, he said.

 

As regards the fight against illegal immigration, Papandreou stressed the need to deal a blow to human traffickers by creating a legal system of immigration and improving the country’s hotly debated and heavily criticised asylum policy.

 

Situated on the southeastern periphery of the European Union, Greece is a frontline country in the fight against illegal immigration into Europe. The number of illegal immigrants arriving in the Balkan nation has surged over the past year.

 

The global economic crisis is having a worrisome impact on immigrants, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the forum, an annual event launched three years ago by the UN leader’s predecessor.

 

“Unemployment rates are unusually higher among migrants,” Ban said.

 

He warned the global recession will lead to a slowdown in remittances, quoting figures published by the World Bank that suggest such transfers from migrants to family back home could fall by 8 percent this year.

 

“Migrants often lack safety nets,” Ban added. “The crisis has also soured public perception. Migrants become easy scapegoats.”

 

In Greece, public opinion polls suggest Greeks want to see tighter controls and fewer immigrants. For instance, the findings of an EU-wide poll that was published by the European Commission, in January, reveal a solid majority of Greeks is very concerned by immigration. Seventy percent of Greeks polled cited immigration as their biggest worry.

 

According to data published recently by the United Nations, a record number of people - more than 214 million - currently live outside their homeland. 

 

Ban said migrants contribute to the prosperity of their destination countries, while playing a pivotal role in reducing poverty in their countries of origin.

 

“Around the world... migration is a topic of debate,” Ban said. “We cannot yet say that the rights of migrants are being fully respected. Everyday thousands risk their lives in the hands of smugglers. More can be done. Like so many of today’s global challenges, migration cannot be addressed unilaterally. We must all work together.”

 

The UN chief also called on the world to urgently address the consequences of climate change, which he said will lead to the forced migration of environmental refugees.

 

“We are in a critical period,” he said. “Populations will relocate due to more extreme weather, including prolonged droughts, storms and fires.”

 

He called for a climate change agreement at next month’s global climate conference in Copenhagen.  

 

 

 

ATHENS NEWS 30/08/2010, page: 18-19