Greek PM Mitsotakis urges EU to use all available tools against ‘weaponized’ migration
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Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged the European Union to make full use of existing legal and operational tools to counter what he described as the “weaponization” of migration, arguing that irregular migration is increasingly being used to pressure frontline member states.
Speaking amid a broader European debate over border security and migration management, Mitsotakis said Greece’s experience has shown that migration flows can become a strategic challenge requiring a coordinated European response. He called for stronger protection of the EU’s external borders, more effective return mechanisms for migrants who do not qualify for protection, and closer cooperation with countries of origin and transit.
The Greek leader’s remarks come as EU governments grapple with renewed tensions over migration policy following recent developments in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has told Spain that the bloc must do more to strengthen its borders at “critical points” while maintaining solidarity with member states facing migration pressure.
Greece has long argued that migration can be used by neighboring countries as a means of exerting political leverage on the European Union. Mitsotakis previously characterized the 2020 surge of migrants at the Greek-Turkish border as an “asymmetrical threat” to both Greece and the EU.
Athens has consistently advocated a tougher EU approach combining border enforcement with asylum procedures and returns. The government says its policy is “firm but fair,” while critics have accused Greece of unlawful pushbacks, allegations the Greek authorities deny.
Mitsotakis said frontline states need greater European support in managing secondary migration movements within the bloc and in implementing return decisions that have often proven difficult to enforce.
The intervention also reflects a wider shift among several EU governments toward treating irregular migration as a matter of security and resilience, particularly after the EU identified the orchestration of migration flows by Belarus in 2021 as a form of hybrid pressure against the bloc.
No new EU measures were announced, but Mitsotakis’ comments add to growing calls from member states for the European Commission to use existing instruments more aggressively before proposing additional legislation.
