Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called on the European Union to strengthen its response to what he described as the “weaponization” of migration, arguing that existing rules are no longer sufficient to deal with countries that use migrant flows as a geopolitical tool.
In an interview with Politico, Mitsotakis said the EU must equip itself with additional legal and operational measures to respond to situations in which migration is deliberately used to exert political pressure on member states.
Mitsotakis pointed to recent events in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta as evidence that Europe faces a broader challenge. Last week, dozens of migrants died while attempting to reach the territory from neighboring Morocco in one of the deadliest migration incidents on the EU’s external borders this year. The crisis prompted Spain to deploy additional security forces and reignited debate across Europe over the use of migration flows as a geopolitical tool.
The Greek prime minister also pointed to Greece’s experience at its border with Turkey in 2020, when thousands of migrants attempted to cross into the country after Ankara announced it would no longer prevent departures toward Europe. Athens has long argued that the episode amounted to an organized attempt to pressure both Greece and the European Union.
Border protection a European responsibility
Mitsotakis argued that protecting the EU’s external borders should remain a collective European responsibility, saying migration policy cannot focus solely on what happens after migrants arrive in Europe.
Instead, he called for greater emphasis on preventing irregular crossings, combating human smuggling networks, and increasing returns of migrants whose asylum claims are rejected. He also stressed that Europe should continue offering protection to those who genuinely qualify for asylum while discouraging irregular migration.
His remarks come as migration has again risen to the top of the EU agenda amid instability in the Middle East and renewed concerns about migration routes across the Mediterranean. Greece has repeatedly urged Brussels to treat migration as both a humanitarian and security issue.
Greece pushes for broader EU reforms
The interview reflects Athens’ broader effort to shape the EU’s migration policy. Over recent years, Mitsotakis has consistently argued that the bloc should prioritize stronger external border protection, faster returns, and closer cooperation with third countries to manage migration flows. Those positions have increasingly been incorporated into the EU’s evolving migration framework.
Mitsotakis has previously argued that migration should not be exploited by neighboring countries seeking political leverage over the European Union, describing such practices as a threat requiring a coordinated European response.
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