Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis credited his government with resolving Greece's migration crisis during a speech to New Democracy's parliamentary group, contrasting current conditions with what he described as the situation his government inherited in 2019.
Referencing a recent visit by former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to Lesbos and Mytilene, Mr. Mitsotakis said, "We remember well the situation we inherited in 2019 on the islands of the northeastern Aegean — lawmakers elected there know it well: 30,000 migrants and refugees on Lesbos. Today it's 230."
He added that migration flows toward Crete have also declined sharply over the past month.
Mr. Mitsotakis said his government played a central role in reshaping European Union migration policy, recalling pressure Greece faced in 2019 over so-called secondary movements of migrants toward other EU countries.
"They told us, 'take people back from Germany.' Dublin. Remember Dublin? There was enormous pressure," he said, referring to the EU's Dublin Regulation governing which country is responsible for processing asylum claims.
He said his government helped shift that narrative and the EU's legislative approach, arguing migration cannot be resolved without securing external borders and ensuring returns of those not entitled to asylum.
He linked this shift directly to the EU's new Migration and Asylum Pact, calling it a continuation of that approach and the product of what he described as serious policy work.
Mr. Mitsotakis noted that far-right parties have gained ground across Europe largely on the strength of migration-related grievances, but argued that in Greece, migration is no longer a major public concern. "No one in Greece worries about migration anymore, fortunately, because this government managed to solve it, effectively and with social justice," he said.