A standoff over a proposed facility near Heraklion (Irakleio), Crete, to host foreign nationals landing or being transferred to the large island from migrant boats is apparently continuing, with the government and local authorities maintaining opposing positions as concerns grow over the impact of continued arrivals.
Following a four-hour meeting on Tuesday between migration and asylum ministry officials and local authorities, Minister Thanos Plevris said the government would proceed with plans for a facility at the Athanati site. Local authorities and many local residents remain opposed, however, calling for no irreversible decisions to be taken.
Plevris said talks could be reopened if local authorities formally submit an alternative proposal for a suitable site.
The government says it has already accepted a key demand from local authorities, namely, instead of a large permanent facility on Crete, there would be two temporary sites, one in the east and one in the west of Greece’s largest island. These would allow the coast guard to handle new arrivals before irregular migrants are transferred to existing facilities elsewhere in Greece.
Plevris pointed to the situation in Chania, where he said a temporary facility was operating without causing significant disruption to the local community. The ministry has also leased a vessel to speed up transfers from the island.
Minister Thanos Plevris.
The need for additional capacity has become more pressing as the so-called “Libya-Crete corridor” has remained a major people smuggling route. Heraklion accounted for 42% of arrivals on Crete during the first eight months of 2026, with more than 5,500 people arriving in the area.
Plevris said the existing facility at the former Psygeio site was insufficient and that the ministry had examined 12 alternative locations before selecting Athanati. Those sites had also faced opposition from residents and local government bodies.
The proposed facility at Athanati would be a closed-type center with capacity for up to 400 people, according to Plevris. He said the government had explained to residents how it would operate and maintained that the hosted foreign nationals would not circulate freely in the surrounding area.
Work at the Athanati has already begun, with beds installed and planning and building issues being addressed, ministry officials said. Plevris acknowledged that the project could eventually reach a stage where reversing course would be difficult, although he said an alternative proposal could still be considered.
He warned that the coming months would be difficult for Crete, describing the Libya-Crete corridor as the country’s main migration pressure point.
According to UNHCR figures cited by the ministry, almost 13,000 undocumented foreign nationals arrived on Crete from the beginning of the year through the end of August, out of 24,523 arrivals recorded across Greece.
