Giorgos Koumoutsakos

Migration minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos is visiting Ankara on Thursday to discuss the recent spike in migrant arrivals on the Greek islands with Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.
The two ministers will focus on the implementation of the 2016 EU-Turkey Declaration, according to a press release. 

Greece's migration minister on Friday urged the incoming European Commission to renew a funding commitment to Turkey to stop migrants reaching the European Union.
Giorgos Koumoutsakos told The Associated Press in an interview that Athens would also welcome an enhanced NATO presence and tougher international patrolling off Greek islands where arrivals have spiked in recent weeks.

Amid an increase in the influx of undocumented migrants from Turkey, Alternate Citizens' Protection Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos, who is responsible for migration policy, has said that Europe's migration problem is beyond Greece's capabilities to handle independently. 

Greece says it is resuming deportations of migrants to Turkey in an effort to address an increase in arrivals over the summer months that have worsened overcrowding at camps on the islands.

Greek officials met on Wednesday in Athens with a delegation of German specialists on issues of migration to discuss arrivals of third-country nationals and find ways of collaborating.

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.

Migration is a huge challenge for all European countries and demands a commonly-arrived at solution, Alternate Migration Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos said on Thursday on his arrival at a European Union summit in Helsinki.

"It demands a common solution and a common reaction on a European Union level," he said.

Authorities are concerned about rising pressure on reception centers for migrants on the islands and on the mainland amid an uptick in arrivals from Turkey.

Following talks with European Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos on Monday, Prime Minister Kyriakos on Monday had another meeting with key cabinet officials whom he asked to focus on six key areas in curbing the impact of migration inflows.

The joint statements on Thursday by Foreign Minister Giorgos Katrougalos and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Antalya, that Ankara should not be excluded from the unfolding energy game in the Eastern Mediterranean, sparked a war of words between the government and opposition New Democracy.