EU's policies against illegal migration: The case of Greece

The legal regulations and practices and domestic policy-based populist approaches accepted by the European Union (EU) member countries to combat illegal immigration do not create a holistic and common migration policy at the EU level. This situation imposes a burden on the EU border countries in political, social and economic terms, and practices against illegal migrants that are against human rights and international agreements are realized. It has been observed that Greece, like other EU member states, follows a strict policy in the fight against illegal migration. In this thesis, the policies of the EU to combat illegal migration are examined in the example of Greece. The main purpose of the study is to determine whether Greece's policy to combat illegal migration is compatible with the EU's approach to combating illegal migration. In this context, the historical process of the migration policies of the EU, the importance of Greece for the EU in the context of illegal migration, the effects of illegal migration, migration policies, policies for illegal prevention, policies against asylum seekers and refugees are examined. As a result, it has been concluded that the illegal migration policy of Greece needs to be revised in parallel with human rights.