Samaras: Dublin II must change

ND President Antonis Samaras today launched a new way of communicating with citizens through Facebook.

With a five-minute video posted on his personal page, Samaras replied to the questions submitted by Internet users. "Greece is a center of illegal immigration. We must recapture our cities. The areas where illegal immigrants are gathering have become cesspools of illegality, drug trafficking and smuggling. We must put things in order. The law does not apply, there is no policing, illegal immigrants are not arrested and when they do they are released from prison because our prisons are inadequate and there are prison buildings that are not functional."

Samaras said that "Dublin II must be changed. We must also cooperate with other countries in southern Europe and I've already made contacts with the leaders of Spain, Portugal, Malta and Cyprus, so that with the help of EU funding we can create a shield. The issue of immigration touches upon the concept of democracy. We must apply the laws, and also create the mood to change the way we have dealt with this issue so far. For example, we must define the responsibilities of those who illegally rent iut homes to illegal immigrants and the relevant authorities that pretend not to see the problem."

Concluding his answers, Samaras says: "The problem of illegal immigration is a major social challenge, which we must address with the sense of an urgent issue."