ΟΤΙ ΨΑΡΕΨΕ Ο ΙΑΚΩΒΟΣ

GUARDING their nation’s frontiers has traditionally been an honourable task for Greeks. These days they are almost begging for foreign assistance. Greece’s borders have become the gateway of choice for the vast majority of people hoping to enter the European Union illegally, and the country is finding it difficult to cope. Of the 106,200 people detected trying to cross illegally into the European Union in 2009, almost three-quarters were stopped in Greece (see chart). Early data for 2010 suggest that, although absolute numbers are falling, Greece’s burden has risen further, to about 80% of the EU total, up from 50% three years ago. Compounding the problem is a rule that says undocumented immigrants found anywhere in the EU must be returned to their country of entry—usually Greece.

Detention centres for irregular immigrants in Greece are small and understaffed, and there are too few of them. Cash-strapped authorities encourage detainees to move on to Athens before their claims have been processed. And on top of the flow of tens of thousands arriving every year is a stock of an estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants already in the country. The €80m ($103m) the government spends each year on tackling the problem is far from adequate, but with austerity in the air more cash is unlikely to be found.

So Brussels is sending in the cavalry. Frontex, a Warsaw-based agency created in 2004 to manage the EU’s external borders, will open a pilot office in the Greek port of Piraeus in October. Earlier this month its executive director, Ilkka Laitinen, went to Athens to finalise the plan with Greece’s home-affairs minister, Michalis Chrisochoidis. There was much talk of “milestones” and “adding value”. But there were hints of frustration behind the smiles. Mr Chrisochoidis welcomed the symbolism of the move but says in practical terms it will be “a drop in the ocean”. As for Frontex, squeezed by budgetary and personnel constraints, Mr Laitinen politely describes its job as “a challenge”. The agency’s annual budget is €88m; that is roughly half the amount the EU devotes to subsidising rice production.

Greece has found itself on the sharp end of Europe’s illegal-immigration problem largely because its “competitors” have found ways of stemming the flow. Until 2007 most of the influx was shared between Greece, Italy and Spain. But bilateral deals, such as Italy’s with Libya and Spain’s with Senegal and Mauritania, have largely closed down the western and central Mediterranean routes into the EU. Greek attempts to negotiate a similar agreement with Turkey have stalled.

Recent data show an overall decline in illegal immigration into the EU. That might bring temporary respite. But as Europe’s pummelled economies continue their recovery and labour demand picks up, the figures are likely to start rising again. And although Greece’s own economic problems make it a less attractive destination for would-be entrants, most of them plan to move on to the wealthier parts of the continent once inside the EU. The opening of the odd border-security office aside, Greece looks likely to remain on the front line of the EU’s illegal-immigration problem for some time.

Πηγή: "The Ecocnomist"