Refugees in Greece: Facing a Multifaceted Labyrinth

Abstract

The failure of the central European policy to deal with the refugees is not limited to a management level. Instead, it is deeply political, as it legitimises alternative, self-righteous policies, hoping either for a European border closure (e.g. Hungary) or a possible exit from the EU (e.g. Brexit) through rhetoric of fear and chauvinism. The Greek case shows that there is no escape from the aforementioned policies. On the one hand, the 2015-2018 government avoided a xenophobic rhetoric, yet on the other hand it implemented specific security-focused deterrence practices. However, insecurity of law caused by the intense volatility of the law and EU/Greece policies gradually became a state of normality, while security of the law became rather the exception. The joint EU-Turkey statement dramatically contributed to this new trend. It also put at risk the European integration itself, and its own statutes and political goals, which are increasingly fading, as is Justice and the Rule of Law.