Greece will stop processing asylum applications of people coming from North Africa, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday (July 9), amid an increase in migrant arrivals.

The announcement came a day after EU's migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta and Greece were denied entry to the eastern part of divided Libya and declared persona non grata by the Benghazi-based government ahead of a scheduled meeting on migration.

"With legislation that will be submitted to the parliament tomorrow, Greece will suspend the examination of asylum applications, initially for three months, for those arriving in Greece from North Africa by sea," Mitsotakis told parliament.

He added that he intended to return to Libya all migrants who entered Greece "illegally."

Sea arrivals of migrants traveling from northeastern Libya to Greece's southern islands of Crete and Gavdos have increased to more than 7,300 this year, according to estimates by the Greek government and aid agencies. That compares with around 5,000 in the whole of 2024.

The migrants mainly come from the Middle East and North Africa, including nationals from Sudan, Egypt and Bangladesh. Greece rescued about 520 migrants off Gavdos early on Wednesday and was taking them to the mainland, the Greek coastguard said.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

GREEK PRIME MINISTER KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS GIVES SPEECH IN PARLIAMENT WITH FOCUS ON MIGRATION AND LIBYA

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: ATHENS, GREECE (JULY 9, 2025) (PARLIAMENT TV - Access all)

1. GREEK PARLIAMENT SESSION IN PROGRESS

2. VARIOUS OF GREEK PRIME MINISTER, KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS WALKING UP TO PODIUM

3. MITSOTAKIS AT PODIUM, MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT APPLAUDING

4. (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) GREEK PRIME MINISTER, KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, SAYING: (SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER SHOT OF PLENARY HALL)

"You know the number of illegal migrants who have arrived in Crete in recent weeks. You understand that this emergency situation requires – indeed, they are illegal – it requires emergency response measures. Consequently, the Greek government has decided to inform the European Commission that, with legislation that will be submitted to the parliament tomorrow, Greece will suspend the consideration of asylum applications, initially for three months, for those arriving in Greece from North Africa by sea."

5. MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT APPLAUDING

6. (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) GREEK PRIME MINISTER, KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, SAYING: (SOUNBITE OVER WIDE SHOT OF PARLIAMENT HALL)

"Therefore, any migrants entering the country illegally will be arrested and detained." / APPLAUSE

7. MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT APPLAUDING

8. (SOUNDBITE) (Greek) GREEK PRIME MINISTER, KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, SAYING: (SOUNDBITE ENDS ON SHOT OF PLENARY HALL)

"Our discussions with Libya, both with the legitimate, internationally-recognised government of western Libya, as well as with the government of eastern Libya, continue and are ongoing. However, I want to be absolutely clear that the Greek armed forces, the navy, the Greek coastguard, are prepared to cooperate with the Libyan authorities, so that we can prevent, preferably, the departure of these boats or these vessels from the Libyan coasts or, when this happens, in cooperation where this is feasible, with the Libyan authorities, these boats should return back to where they started from before entering Greek territorial waters and any intervention, any rescue of them should essentially be transformed into a search and rescue operation."

9. MITSOTAKIS COLLECTING PAPERS AT PODIUM

10. MITSOTAKIS LEAVING PODIUM, LAWMAKERS STANDING UP AND APPLAUDING