Refugee Crisis and Asylum Policies in Greece and Italy

Bolani, L., Gemi, E. and Skleparis, D. (2016) Refugee Crisis and Asylum Policies in Greece and Italy. In: Migrants and Refugees. Impact and Policies. Case Studies of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece. European Institute of the Mediterranean, pp. 82-109.

Abstract

Southern Europe, and especially Greece and Italy, have been faced with a steady flow of refugees and migrants as a result of various conflicts in Europe’s southern neighbourhood, demographic change and lack of economic development in parts of the Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, as well as the impact of climate change. In particular, the Syrian conflict and the transformation of Libya into a failed state have led to a substantial increase in the number of incoming refugees and migrants, making the management of those flows by the Greek and Italian authorities almost impossible. This chapter aims to provide a brief history of irregular migration flows to Greece, present challenges for border management and the current situation regarding reception facilities in Greece, followed by statistics, and then analyse the asylum procedure in Greece and Italy in some detail. Finally, the chapter concludes with a number of policy recommendations.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Skleparis, Dr Dimitris
• Authors: Bolani, L., Gemi, E., and Skleparis, D.
• Subjects: J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
• Publisher: European Institute of the Mediterranean