According to the Greek “China-Greece Times” report, the Greek Minister of Immigration and Asylum Panayotis Mitalakis recently issued an announcement stating that Greece has made a request to the European Commission and the European Union Border Agency to comply with the EU-Turkey Joint Declaration , Immediately repatriated 1,442 refugees in Greece who did not meet the requirements for international protection.

If the request is approved by the EU and cooperated by Turkey, this repatriation will be the largest repatriation operation in the country’s history.

Repatriation faced obstacles

　　On January 14, Mittalakis issued an announcement stating that Greece has now completed rapid screening of the new crown virus of the refugees who are about to return, creating conditions for their safe return.

The announcement urged Turkey to abide by the relevant content in the joint statement and actively accept repatriated refugees.

　　"The repatriation operation has long been planned by the Greek side, but it has been waiting for suitable conditions. The current epidemic prevention of refugees meets the conditions for safe repatriation, so the repatriation is implemented immediately." Wang Shuo, deputy director of the European Institute of the China Institute of Modern International Relations, accepted This newspaper said in an interview.

　　For many years, the "Eastern Mediterranean Route" via Turkey into Greece has been the main route for refugees to enter Europe.

In 2016, the EU and Turkey reached an agreement on cooperation to resolve refugee issues.

The European Union promised to provide 6 billion euros in aid to Turkey in exchange for the restriction of illegal immigrants from Turkey to Europe.

The agreement states that Greece has the right to repatriate refugees who do not meet international protection conditions to Turkey.

However, as the situation in northwestern Syria has escalated in recent years, Turkey's ability and willingness to settle refugees have declined.

　　Previously, Mittalakis had pointed out that since March 10, 2020, Turkey has refused to accept deported migrants under the pretext of prevention and control of the new crown pneumonia epidemic.

The conflict between Europe and Turkey has a long history

　　According to Euronet, the Turkish government announced on February 27, 2020 that it will no longer prevent refugees from entering Europe.

This move caused thousands of refugees to quickly rush to the Turkish-Greek border and try to enter EU countries.

The Greek government subsequently strengthened its border defenses and called on the European Union to provide support as soon as possible.

On March 4, 2020, the Vice President of the European Parliament accused Turkish President Erdogan of unilaterally violating the EU-Turkey agreement and using the refugee crisis on the Turkish-Greek border to "blackmail" the EU.

On March 6th of the same year, the foreign ministers of the EU member states stated that the EU rejected Turkey's use of refugees to exert pressure for political purposes and had decided to protect the EU borders, including Greece.

　　After that, Turkish President Erdogan delivered a speech urging Greece to "open the door" to accept refugees and allow them to travel to other European countries.

The Turkish side has repeatedly stated that not all the funds promised by the EU are in place, and the promised visa-free treatment and trade rule reforms have not been implemented.

Turkey has fulfilled the obligations stipulated in the agreement with the EU, but the EU has not fulfilled its promise.

According to the Russian Satellite Network, Erdogan stated that the Turkish side will not close the border between the country and the EU until the EU fulfills its commitments.

Refugee repatriation is a long way

　　“In recent years, there have been constant disputes and tensions between Europe and Turkey. The refugee crisis is one of many conflicts between Europe and Turkey.” Wang Shuo analyzed that for EU countries, the refugee crisis in recent years has had a huge impact on Europe, causing social unrest, political populization, and terror. A series of problems such as attacks have made EU countries unbearable.

In the face of huge refugee pressure, Greece, Italy and other EU "front-line countries" have repeatedly claimed that they have been overwhelmed.

　　"Repatriation involves the refugees' own wishes, acceptance and resettlement after repatriation and other issues. From the current relationship between the two sides, Turkey is unlikely to cooperate." Wang Shuo said.

　　Wang Shuo believes that at present, countries have strengthened border control from the perspective of health and epidemic prevention, and the refugee problem is not so prominent.

However, the various problems left by the earlier refugee crisis have become more prominent due to the epidemic. Social problems such as the differentiation of social classes and gaps in medical conditions may give rise to new social conflicts and exacerbate conflicts between local residents and immigrants.

These will leave many hidden dangers in the future, and may even cause more serious problems.

　　Yan Yuwen