In order to stop the flow of illegal immigrants to Greece, the Athens government wants to extend the fence along the entire border with Turkey. A decision in this sense was taken last August.

Speaking to Skai radio, Greek Citizen Protection Minister Takis Theodorikakos said that the works to extend the steel fences, which were previously built along the banks of the Maritsa river, by 35 km, will begin in the near future. Minister Theodorikakos announced that the work, which cost 100 million Euros, will be covered by his country's budget.

The European Union, which examined the demand for covering the cost of additional steel fences of 35 km, rejected the application of the Greek government, saying that "there is no need for new steel fences at the Turkish border."

Claiming that the existing border security measures were insufficient, the Athens administration decided to build a steel fence with a total length of 140 km on the border with Turkey. The first part of the fence was completed last year.

According to the Greek border security units, 256,000 refugees from Turkey trying to cross the Maritza River were prevented during 2022, and 1,300 people who were involved in human smuggling were detained.