Illegal Immigration To Greece Dampens Turkey's Stance In EU, Says Frontex

Turkey's role in the flood of illegal immigrants to Greece is apparently gaining ground. The rising numbers of illegal crossings at the porous border between Greece and Turkey just might prompt European Union ministers to call for drastic changes to Europe's visa-free Schengen area. According to a Frontex report Turkey is now viewed as one of the most important sources of illegal immigration destined to the 27 member states. The EU’s border management agency said in a report recently that illegal crossings detected along the external borders of the EU increased by 35% in 2011, from 104,000 the previous year to 141,000.

According to the report, the second most significant hot-spot in Europe where illegal crossings are made is the border between Greece and Turkey, with 55,000 detections recorded in 2011. Frontex said that at least 75% of all illegal border-crossings into Europe were reported by Greece at the Greek land border with Turkey in Evros.

The border between Greece and Turkey is very likely to remain one of the areas with the highest number of detections of illegal border-crossings, the report also noted. Frontex underlined that illegal immigrants might now also take advantage of Turkish visa policies and the expansion of Turkish Airlines, “carrying more passengers to more destinations, to transit through Turkish air borders and subsequently attempt to enter the EU illegally”.

Obviously this is bad news for Turkish authorities as they have been urging the EU to grant their citizens visa-free travel to the EU bloc. As the EU is mulling the idea of restoring border controls in the Schengen area under under “exceptional circumstances,” it might not be as open to the idea of opening its borders to Turkey.