Greece Considers Meloni’s Migration Proposal
Dear Member,
This is our weekly round-up from Greece.
The gremlin of the printing press hit us in our previous newsletter. The first two paragraphs in section three (focused on developments in PASOK and SYRIZA) defied their deletion through editing and remained part of the newsletter. We apologize.
Although the Greek PM initially appeared cautious when commenting on Italy’s pilot system involving processing migrants in a center in Albania, he then branded the project as “interesting.” He also embraced the Commission’s idea of creating centers on non-EU soil to send migrants with rejected asylum applications.
Suburban train Proastiakos was directed by mistake to a metro track. The train driver realized it quickly, and a possible accident was averted. Responsibilities disappeared again in a thick fog of accusations exchanged. On the day of the incident, a court ruled that the scheduled train drivers' strike was illegal. The train drivers' demands included mainly safety issues.
The Greek government bought plenty of 4GB USB sticks for €26.04 each. This is an illustrative example of how public funds in the country are appropriated.
Greek PM finds Meloni’s project on sending migrants to Albanian camps “interesting”
At the outset of a leaders’ summit in Brussels where migration dominated the discussions, Greece’s PM Mitsotakis appeared cautious against proposals to outsource EU asylum policy to countries outside the bloc.
“Several centrist leaders in Europe have veered right on the issue in recent months, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, with the European Commission now signaling openness to so-called innovative solutions, including return hubs for migrants set up outside the EU,” Financial Times reported (Öffnet in neuem Fenster). “Italy this week began a pilot system involving processing migrants in a center in Albania.”
In an interview (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) with the Financial Times on Thursday, Mitsotakis expressed skepticism about calls to roll out the Italy-Albania model across the EU. “Let me be careful here. This is a bilateral arrangement. I don’t know whether it could be replicated at the European level,” he told FT. “We also have to see if it works. These people are processed according to Italian asylum legislation, and whatever happens to them, they will be returned to Italy in one way or another. If we were to do so at the European level . . . where would they go?”
When, however, he was asked at the press conference following the summit, Mitsotakis stated (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) that Meloni’s scheme “is a new, interesting solution —I did not in any way dismiss it— for those migrants who are picked up in international waters—Greece, by assumption, does not have such cases—and whose asylum applications will be processed, based on Italian law, in Albania. However, these people will ultimately, one way or another, cross through Italy.”
It is noted here that, in the case of Greece, migrant flows usually start from the Turkish coast to cross directly into Greek waters - that’s why Mitsotakis said Greece does not usually pick migrants in international waters.
Mitsotakis furthermore appeared to embrace the Commission’s proposal for return hubs for migrants set up outside the EU. Referring to the letter (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) from von der Leyen to the leaders before the Summit, the Greek PM said the proposals included “the idea of centers outside the European Union where migrants with rejected asylum applications will be sent if they cannot be returned directly to their countries of origin" - also termed “innovative solution.”
Well, maybe the EU should patent it, but they couldn’t because the UK had come first with the “Rwanda asylum plan (Öffnet in neuem Fenster),” which the Labour Party canceled after ascending to power after the 2024 elections.
“Innovative,” however, is a euphemism in all aspects. European Commission proposals in the aforementioned letter include ideas that usually inspire the far-right agenda.
You may end up in the metro when you take the train.
Suburban train Proastiakos was directed by mistake to the track of Metro Line 3 in northern Athens. An accident was averted as the train driver realized what had happened and back-geared for some 300, then the train was back on its proper track.
The daily Efimerida ton Syntakton reported (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) this serious incident on Thursday, which called upon an official report by the Train Drivers Union (PEPE). The same day, the Athens Prosecutor's Office ordered (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) a preliminary investigation into the incident.
"On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, train 4245 was forced to reverse on the Athens Suburban Railway line after receiving instructions from a Stationmaster (S.K.A. Tele Administration) to enter the wrong track (specifically the Metro line) in the area of Doukissis Plakentias." PEE’s document stated.
Suburban trains have a more significant displacement, meaning they are taller and are not designed to enter the underground Metro network. According to EfSyn, the train driver noticed that the switches were set to the wrong route, directing him towards the Metro, and tried unsuccessfully to communicate with the OSE controllers. At that point, he decided to take an action not provided for by the regulations. He proceeded at a very slow speed and entered the wrong track. As soon as the train passed a sensor, the remote control at the S.K.A. detected the incorrect route, and only then did the OSE controller respond, instructing him to reverse.
A month ago, on September 13, 2024, two Suburban Railway trains were found to be traveling in opposite directions on the same track. The collision was avoided because one train driver overheard the incorrect instruction issued by the OSE traffic controller at S.K.A. once again via the radio.
In the most recent incident, Hellenic Train penalized the train driver. OSE has announced no penalty for the controller. It is reminded that the state-controlled OSE is responsible for network maintenance and traffic control. At the same time, Hellenic Train is responsible for conducting the routes and employing the personnel.
What followed was an effort of officials to shift the blame to one another.
The CEO of OSE, Panagiotis Terezakis, confirmed the incident in a radio interview (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) (Real) but spoke of "exaggerations" in the report. He admitted the mistake of the OSE traffic controller. He also admitted that the trains on the Suburban Railway do not have the ETCS automatic braking system. Then, Mr Terezakis began listing the mistakes of the train driver. "He violated two amber signals, even though the routing was incorrect." In no case the passengers were exposed to risk,” he concluded.
In its initial press release, the Hellenic Train put the blame (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) mainly on the train driver, triggering an angry response from the train drivers union. The union stated (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) the train driver spotted the problem in time despite having been directed to enter the Metro line. "Instead of Hellenic Train being concerned since this is the second incident in the S.K.A. control area in the past month, which was averted through the actions of train drivers, it is trying to divert public attention away from the real problems of the railway network," they said (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
The union accused the Hellenic Train management of misleading the public, just as it did "when it advertised the ETR 470 trains as an investment, and today out of the five available, only 2 or 3 are operational, and in those, when it rains, the train drivers have to hold an umbrella to protect themselves from the water entering the driving cabins."
Interestingly, on the day of the incident, a court decided (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) that the train drivers' strike planned for 10 October was illegal. Hellenic Train had filed the complaint with Justice. The train drivers' union called the strike mainly on demands on safety measures, completion of ETCS, signaling, tele administration, rail maintenance, and cleaning.
Although the railway safety infrastructure may not have been upgraded, OSE will reportedly (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) invest 36 million euros in entry gates and automatic ticket machines for suburban and intercity railway stations.
Passengers may not be sure they will arrive safely, yet they will be sure they cannot avoid a ticket.
USB sticks made of gold
Would you ever buy a 4GB USB stick - and if so, how much would you pay for it?
Greece’s Finance Ministry purchased 300 USB sticks through direct assignment for €26.04 each, even though their market price starts at €2, a report by daily Dimokratia revealed (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).
The Ministry of Finance “decided to pay €7,812 (including VAT) to the company DIATYPOS – D.S. KRANIOU & CO. for the purchase of 300 memory sticks "for the digitization of the State Budget files for the year 2025." The contract was detected in the open gov website Diavgeia.
According to the report, the company in question has repeatedly sold USB sticks to the Greek state: In November 2018, 250 sticks were invoiced at €3,689, including VAT - €14.76 each (this was under the SYRIZA government). In November 2019, another 250 identical USBs were invoiced €6,200, including VAT - €24.80 each (while their prices in the market were falling). In November 2020, 250 USBs were invoiced at €6,493, including VAT of €25.90 each. In November 2023, 300 were invoiced at €7,440, including VAT - €24.80 each.
This USB case is just a tiny example of how Greek state funds are appropriated.
Read
In a press release (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), the Federation of European Journalists (FEJ), the largest organization of journalists in Europe branded Greece’s PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis a “free speech oppressor” - and expressed dismay at the decisions of the Atlantic Council to honor Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, and Mitsotakis with Atlantic Council Global Citizen Awards.
Two infants, two women die when migrants boat sinks off Kos (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Road on Mount Grammos sparks probe (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Greece's Marine Protected Areas remain unprotected! (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Greece’s FinMin modifies tips taxation, abolishes freelancers’ fee (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Passengers escape unharmed after bus overturns near Kalavryta (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
“Greek FBI”: Names of hundreds police officers leaked to the press (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Lesvos: A Birdwatcher’s Paradise Full of Rare Species (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Comet Last Seen by Neanderthals Dazzles Greece (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Listen
Plan Ahead
An exciting season for art aficionados (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
That’s all for this week; please forward this email to anyone you think might find it interesting and ask them to join our international community!
The AL team
