Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis’ interview on PARAPOLITIKA FM 90.1 radio station (24.08.2021)

“Greece will not become a country of mass entry of refugees and immigrants, as in 2015”, stated Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, in an interview on PARAPOLITIKA FM 90.1 radio station with journalist Thanasis Fouskidis. As he added, “what distinguishes us from the opposition is that we do not subscribe to the logic that ‘we have opened our borders and we are waiting for you’ as applied in 2015”.

At the same time, Mr. Varvitsiotis described the process of evacuation of Afghanistan and the withdrawal of American and allied forces as difficult for many European countries and this is expected to be a matter of concern at European level. He also noted that Europe is not ready to face a new migration crisis due to Afghanistan, as it lacks a common policy on immigration in order to shield its borders and address human rights issues.

Regarding the new measures for the unvaccinated, Mr. Varvitsiotis pointed out that “the unvaccinated should not drag society either to new lockdowns or to new restrictive measures.” “We must understand that from now on the issue of taking individual responsibility arises. We are not talking about a two-thirds society, divided between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. Vaccination is a matter of respect for a fundamental right, which is none other than the protection of public health.”