Koumoutsakos to Kathimerini: Worrying increase of migrant flows in the Aegean

The Greek government is deeply concerned over the reported 17 percent increase in migrant and refugee arrivals in recent weeks, says Alternate Minister for Citizens' Protection Giorgos Koumoutsakos, who is responsible for Greece's migration policy, in an interview with Kathimerini. More than 20,000 people are currently stranded on the Greek islands of Lesvos, Samos, Chios, Kos and Leros.
Koumoutsakos says that the new government inherited a "closed" system of constant inflows and very limited outflows. He speaks of a nascent migration corridor between Alexandroupoli and Samothraki in northeast Greece, and warns of the additional strain on an already tense situation caused by overcrowding on island as well as mainland facilities.
The conservative minister also stresses that recent threats from Turkish officials combined with tension in Ankara's ties with Brussels and...