Vassilis Kikilias, the maritime affairs minister, meets Coast Guard officials during a visit to Crete. [Handout/Hellenic Coast Guard]
Greece’s maritime affairs minister pledged Monday to “defend” the southern island of Crete against a wave of immigration in small boats that risk the long and dangerous passage from north Africa to reach European soil.
Speaking during a visit to the island, Vassilis Kikilias said that Crete was his “first priority” and said the conservative government is investing in more patrol boats, drones and personnel to fight illegal immigration.
“At a difficult time, with wars, a civil war in Sudan and migratory flows, we are trying to organize ourselves in the best possible way,” he said.
“We love the island, we love our islanders and we need to defend Crete,” Kikilias said. “So we are strengthening it with more Coast Guard personnel and we have more vessels here than anywhere else due to the situation with immigration.”
In recent months, Crete has become the prime destination for migrants from the Middle East and Africa trying to enter Greece, en route to Europe’s prosperous heartland. So far this year, more than 2,300 people have successfully made the crossing, which amounts to more than a third of total arrivals by sea and land.
The second most popular single point of arrival is Lesvos in the eastern Aegean Sea, with about 800 people making landfall there since January 1. Lesvos lies close to the Turkish littoral, while Crete is roughly a three-day journey from eastern Libya.