The Governor of Turkey’s westernmost Edirne province, Yunus Sezer, on March 4 announced that a fence would be built along the border with Greece, as the first “physical security measure” on the western border.
“We started from the Greek border. We will continue depending on the situation in the future. It depends a bit on the budget, but it will be around 8.5 kilometers,” he said.
Sezer said that the local administration had constructed 325 kilometers of roads along the border line last September. This year, they continued their work on building electro-optical towers and taking other measures with the support of the Interior and Defense Ministries.
As part of the border “reinforcement” project, the governorship would build physical walls and fences in areas where only patrol roads existed.
Although where exactly the fence will be built and the timetable for its construction is unclear, Turkey seems to be adopting Greece’s strategy to deal with illegal immigration.
Greece builds fence, Turkey follows
Greece has been building a fence along its borders with Turkey primarily to manage the flow of migrants and refugees entering the country.
The Mediterranean has seen a significant influx of people fleeing conflict and seeking better opportunities, and Greece, being an entry point to the EU, has faced challenges in handling this influx. The fences are part of broader efforts to regulate and control immigration, which has been a complex issue affecting both Greece and the European Union as a whole.
Athens plans to extend its fence—which runs along the Evros River following the shared border with Turkey—by 35 kilometers, to add a total of 100 kilometers by 2026. It is currently five meters high and 37.5 kilometers long.
Greece’s Mitsotakis stressed recently that the fence is “contributing toward European security” and has asked the European Union for financial support to extend it.
“I think it’s about time for the EU to seriously consider providing European funds for these types of projects,” Mitsotakis has said.
The European Union has expressed support for Greece’s efforts to strengthen its border infrastructure, including the expansion of the fence along the Greek-Turkish border.
While the EU does not directly fund border walls or fences, it provides financial assistance for border management, surveillance technology and personnel, through agencies like Frontex (the European Border and Coast Guard Agency).
The EU considers Greece’s border with Turkey as an external EU border, making its security a shared European concern, especially in managing migration flows and preventing unauthorized crossings.
Some EU leaders have publicly backed Greece’s actions, viewing them as a measure to protect the Schengen Area. However, there has been some criticism from human rights organizations regarding the humanitarian impact of stricter border policies.
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