Horst Seehofer

Germany faced calls to toughen gun ownership laws and step up efforts to track far-right sympathizers after the suspect in one of its worst mass shootings since World War Two was found to have published a racist manifesto.

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas on Wednesday weighed in on a row between the Greek government and local authorities over plans to build pre-deportation centers on the five Aegean islands that are on the frontline of the migration/refugee crisis, calling for a greater "sense of responsibility and consensus."

Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarakis and Alternate Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos are set to meet with German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in Berlin on Thursday.
Talks are expected to focus on the EU's new migration and asylum pact which will be presented in the spring.

Just weeks before the EU is scheduled to begin thrashing out a new migration and asylum pact, Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis will hold talks with German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in Berlin on 20 February and will present Athens' proposals for a swift processing of asylum applications and an equitable EU-wide burden-sharing plan.

Germany has announced that asylum applications filed in its territory have dropped by more than 14% over the past year, BTA reported. Data show that the downward trend continues after the influx of migrants from the Middle East in 2015 and 2016.

Germany will step up its fight against right-wing extremism, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Dec. 18, following a number of incidents this year.

"Germany has to become more active against the far-right," Seehofer said at a press briefing in Berlin to introduce new measures.

Today, Germany has warned of a recurrence of the chaotic influx of migrants, which caught the EU unprepared in 2015. Meanwhile, Greece and Cyprus are alarming for more and more migrants which are coming from neighbouring Turkey, BNR reported, citing Reuters.

Germany warned on Tuesday of a repeat of the chaotic influx of migrants that caught the European Union unprepared in 2015, with Greece and Cyprus sounding alarms over a fresh surge of arrivals from neighboring Turkey.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will meet with outgoing European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Wednesday at Maximos Mansion, according to government spokesman Stelios Petsas who briefed journalists on Tuesday.

On Thursday (October 3), the prime minister will attend a part of the annual "Parmenion" military exercise in Alexandroupolis.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer released the government's migration report in Berlin on Jan. 23.