Latest news with #KyriakosMitsotakis'
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Greek government seeks parliamentary probe into EU farm fraud, opposition decries cover-up
Find out what's new on ST website and app. ATHENS - Greece's ruling conservatives will ask parliament to investigate a scandal in which Greek farmers for years faked land ownership to receive EU agricultural subsidies, the government said on Monday. The EU in June imposed a 392 million-euro fine on Greece over the misuse of the funds between 2016 and 2023 by government agency OPEKEPE, which handles the subsidies and payments. Some OPEKEPE officials have denied wrongdoing. But the EU prosecutor for Greece also alleges that politicians have been involved in the fraud, documents seen by Reuters show, threatening to weaken Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right government. Only the Greek parliament can investigate politicians. Four ministers and one senior official have resigned so far. They all deny wrongdoing. "We call on parties to rise to the occasion over a decades-long wound and vote in favour of our proposal," government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis said. Marinakis said the investigation would go back to 1998, the year OPEKEPE was founded. The government says illegally received subsidies must be returned. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore HSA intensifies crackdown on vapes; young suspected Kpod peddlers nabbed in Bishan, Yishun Singapore Man charged over distributing nearly 3 tonnes of vapes in one day in Bishan, Ubi Avenue 3 Singapore Public healthcare institutions to record all Kpod cases, confiscate vapes: MOH, HSA Singapore Man allegedly attacks woman with knife at Kallang Wave Mall, to be charged with attempted murder Singapore Singapore boosts support for Timor-Leste as it prepares to join Asean Singapore UN aviation and maritime agencies pledge to collaborate to boost safety, tackle challenges Singapore High Court dismisses appeal of drink driver who killed one after treating Tampines road like racetrack Singapore 18 years' jail for woman who hacked adoptive father to death after tussle over Sengkang flat The exact size of the suspected fraud is unclear, but could be huge: OPEKEPE distributes 2.5 billion euros ($2.92 billion) in agricultural subsidies annually to hundreds of thousands of farmers. Opposition parties accused the government of a cover-up attempt, by trying to implicate parties other than Mitsotakis' New Democracy, which came to power in 2019 but has seen a drop in popularity since it was re-elected with a majority in parliament in 2023. For many Greeks, the scandal shows the persistence of the kind of corruption that helped plunge Greece into a decade-long financial crisis in 2009. EU prosecutors have already charged dozens of Greek stockbreeders who received EU funds after making false declarations of ownership or leasing of pastureland in recent years. REUTERS
Straits Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Greece passes North Africa asylum ban amid rights groups' opposition
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Newly-arrived migrants are sheltered in a municipal hall, in the town of Agyia, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Nicolas Economou/File Photo ATHENS - Greek lawmakers voted on Friday to temporarily stop processing asylum requests from migrants arriving from North Africa by sea in a bid to reduce arrivals into Europe's southernmost tip, a move rights groups and opposition parties have called illegal. The ban comes amid a surge in migrants reaching the island of Crete and after talks with Libya's Benghazi-based government to stem the flow were cancelled acrimoniously this week. It marks a further hardening of Greece's stance towards migrants under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right government, which has built a fence at its northern land borders and boosted sea patrols since it came to power in 2019. Human rights groups accuse Greece of forcefully turning back asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders. This year, the European Union border agency said it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece. The government denies wrongdoing. The law, which received 177 votes in favour and 74 against, halts asylum processing for at least three months and allows authorities to quickly repatriate migrants without any prior identification process. "Faced with the sharp increase in irregular arrivals by sea from North Africa, particularly from Libya to Crete, we have taken the difficult but absolutely necessary decision to temporarily suspend the examination of asylum applications," Mitsotakis was quoted by his office as telling the German newspaper Bild on Friday. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore ST will have Govt's 'full confidence and support' in its mission to stay relevant: PM Wong Singapore ST will aim to become an indispensable partner to S'pore's communities: Editor Jaime Ho Singapore Heartbeats & Headlines: ST's 180-year legacy comes to life in immersive exhibition Singapore Trusted news, smarter experience with new Straits Times website and app Singapore Man who killed 5-year-old daughter gets life sentence after he appeals against 35-year jail term Singapore Judge declines to void alleged sham marriage in S'pore, says it is for Parliament to decide Business OCBC CEO Helen Wong to retire on Dec 31; Tan Teck Long named successor Singapore More than 14,300 people checked during 7-week-long anti-crime ops "Greece is not a gateway to Europe open to everyone." Greece was on the front line of a migration crisis in 2015-16 when hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa passed through its islands and mainland. Since then, flows have dropped off dramatically. While there has been a rise in arrivals to the outlying islands of Crete and Gavdos - those numbers have quadrupled to over 7,000 so far this year - sea arrivals to Greece as a whole dropped by 5.5% to 17,000 in the first half of this year, U.N. data show. Rights groups and opposition parties said the ban approved by parliament violates human rights. "Seeking refuge is a human right; preventing people from doing so is both illegal and inhumane," said Martha Roussou, a senior advocacy adviser for aid group IRC. Thousands of irregular migrants have been rescued by the Greek coastguard off Crete in recent days, the Athens government said. Hundreds of them, including children, were temporarily housed at an exhibition centre in Agyia, near the city of Chania in western Crete, amid sweltering summer temperatures. Reuters footage on Friday showed a migrant who had fainted being taken out of the shelter on a stretcher. Crete lacks an organised reception facility. The government said it would build a migrant camp there but the local tourist industry is worried the plan could harm the island's image. 'The weight is too great, the load is too big, and solutions now have to be found ... at a central level,' said George Tsapakos, a deputy governor for Crete. REUTERS
The Star
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Greece passes North Africa asylum ban amid rights groups' opposition
ATHENS (Reuters) -Greek lawmakers voted on Friday to temporarily stop processing asylum requests frommigrants arriving from North Africa by sea in a bid to reduce arrivals into Europe's southernmost tip, a move rights groups and opposition parties have called illegal. The ban comes amid a surge in migrants reaching the island of Crete and after talks with Libya's Benghazi-based government to stem the flow were cancelled acrimoniously this week. It marks a further hardening of Greece's stance towards migrants under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right government, which has built a fence at its northern land borders and boosted sea patrols since it came to power in 2019. Human rights groups accuse Greece of forcefully turning back asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders. This year, the European Union border agency said it was reviewing 12 cases of potential human rights violations by Greece. The government denies wrongdoing. The law, which received 177 votes in favour and 74 against, halts asylum processing for at least three months and allows authorities to quickly repatriate migrants without any prior identification process. "Faced with the sharp increase in irregular arrivals by sea from North Africa, particularly from Libya to Crete, we have taken the difficult but absolutely necessary decision to temporarily suspend the examination of asylum applications," Mitsotakis was quoted by his office as telling the German newspaper Bild on Friday. "Greece is not a gateway to Europe open to everyone." Greece was on the front line of a migration crisis in 2015-16 when hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa passed through its islands and mainland. Since then, flows have dropped off dramatically. While there has been a rise in arrivals to the outlying islands of Crete and Gavdos - those numbers have quadrupled to over 7,000 so far this year - sea arrivals to Greece as a whole dropped by 5.5% to 17,000 in the first half of this year, U.N. data show. Rights groups and opposition parties said the ban approved by parliament violates human rights. "Seeking refuge is a human right; preventing people from doing so is both illegal and inhumane," said Martha Roussou, a senior advocacy adviser for aid group IRC. Thousands of irregular migrants have been rescued by the Greek coastguard off Crete in recent days, the Athens government said. Hundreds of them, including children, were temporarily housed at an exhibition centre in Agyia, near the city of Chania in western Crete, amid sweltering summer temperatures. Reuters footage on Fridayshoweda migrant who had fainted being taken out of the shelter on a stretcher. Crete lacks an organised reception facility. The government said it would build a migrant camp there but the local tourist industry is worried the plan could harm the island's image. 'The weight is too great, the load is too big, and solutions now have to be found ... at a central level,' said George Tsapakos, a deputy governor for Crete. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou; editing by Edward McAllister and Mark Heinrich)
TimesLIVE
5 days ago
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
Greek lawmakers to vote on North Africa asylum ban as rights groups cry foul
A vote on the law, which would also allow authorities to quickly deport migrants without identification process, was expected on Thursday or Friday. It is expected to pass, given the ruling party's parliamentary majority. Greece, one of the main gateways into the EU for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, has taken an increasingly tough stand on migration since Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right New Democracy came to power in 2019, building a fence at its northern land borders and boosting sea patrols in the east. However, sea arrivals of migrants travelling from northeastern Libya to its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos, the closest European territory to North Africa, have surged this year. Dozens, including children, sat on mattresses in a temporary reception centre in Agyia, near the city of Chania, on Thursday. There were among hundreds rescued by the Greek coastguard in the Libyan Sea off Crete in recent days. "We are experiencing what I would call the worst crisis of the past two years," said Vasilis Katsikandarakis, head of the coastguard staff in western Crete. "All the burden has fallen on the coastguard, who don't have the necessary equipment and personnel to deal with the flows." Human rights groups said the proposed three-month asylum ban would violate international and European law, and called on the Greek government to recall it. "Seeking refuge is a human right. Preventing people from doing so is illegal and inhumane," the International Rescue Committee. Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis denied the law change was illegal and said it was meant to deter migrants. Mitsotakis met European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Malta's Prime Minister Robert Abela on Thursday to discuss the issue on the sidelines of a conference in Rome. They agreed to work on resending an EU delegation to Libya to revive a visit which was aborted when the parallel government of Osama Hamad, which controls the east and large areas of the south, denied them entry. Reuters
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Greek lawmakers to vote on North Africa asylum ban as rights groups cry foul
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Newly-arrived migrants are sheltered in a municipal hall, in the town of Agyia, on the island of Crete, Greece, July 10, 2025. REUTERS/Nicolas Economou AGYIA, Crete - Greek lawmakers were set to vote on legislation on Thursday that would temporarily halt the processing of asylum applications of people coming from North Africa, a move rights groups have called illegal. The vote comes amid a surge in migrant arrivals to the island of Crete and as talks with divided Libya's Benghazi-based eastern government to help stem the flow were cancelled acrimoniously this week. Greece, one of the main gateways into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, has taken an increasingly tough stance on migration since Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right party came to power in 2019, building a fence at its northern land borders and boosting sea patrols in the east. Sea arrivals of migrants travelling from northeastern Libya to its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos, the closest European territory to North Africa, have surged this year. Dozens of migrants, including children, sat on mattresses in a temporary reception centre in Agyia, near the city of Chania, on Thursday. There were among hundreds rescued by the Greek coastguard in the Libyan Sea off Crete in recent days. "We are experiencing what I would call the worst crisis of the past two years, with hundreds of migrants disembarking on the southern coast of the island," said Vasilis Katsikandarakis, head of the coastguard staff in western Crete. "All the burden has fallen onto the coastguard, who don't have the necessary equipment and personnel to deal with such flows." In response to the spike, Mitsotakis' government proposed legislation on Wednesday stipulating that migrants crossing illegally to Greece from North Africa by sea would not be able to file for an asylum for three months. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business S'pore to launch new grant for companies, expand support for workers amid US tariff uncertainties Singapore Spike in piracy, armed robbery cases in straits of Malacca and Singapore in first half of 2025 Singapore Singaporean fugitive charged over alleged drug trafficking, faces death penalty if convicted Singapore KTPH trials 'smart diapers' for adult patients to prevent skin conditions, relieve burden on nurses Singapore PSP's CEC renewal shows its commitment to being a reasonable alternative choice, says Stephanie Tan World 'Do some homework': 6 key exchanges between US Senator Duckworth and S'pore envoy nominee Sinha Singapore Singapore launches centre to drive sustainable aviation in Asia-Pacific Multimedia 60 objects to mark SG60: Which is your favourite? A vote on the law, which would also allow authorities to quickly deport those migrants without any prior identification process, was expected later on Thursday or early on Friday. Human rights groups said the asylum ban would violate international and European law, and called on the Greek government to recall it. "Seeking refuge is a human right; preventing people from doing so is both illegal and inhumane," the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a statement. The government who controls 155 lawmakers in the 300-seated parliament said on Wednesday the ban was "an emergency response to an emergency situation". Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said on Thursday the move was a fair one, aimed to make Greece less attractive to illegal migrants. "No-one is less humanitarian than anyone else in this country and in Europe," he said. Greece has long been accused by aid groups of forcibly ejecting migrants at its sea and land borders, also known as "pushbacks," an illegal practice. A Greek naval court has charged 17 coastguard officers over one of the Mediterranean's worst shipwrecks two years ago, in which hundreds of people are believed to have drowned. REUTERS
