Greek minister says migrant arrival numbers sharply down

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s migration minister says the number of migrants arriving in Greece has dropped dramatically over the past two years, while the number of asylum-seekers living in the country has also fallen. Speaking Tuesday at an event marking the third anniversary of the Migration and Asylum Ministry’s foundation, Notis Mitarachi credited the center-right government’s policies on migration for the drop, including increased border patrols, speeded up asylum procedures and a tightening of migration laws. Greece saw the lowest number of arrivals in a decade in 2021, Mitarachi said, putting the figure at under 9,000 people. In 2015, hundreds of thousands of people arrived in Greece, most then heading north through the Balkans to wealthier European countries.