EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom concluded, on October 9, a two-day visit to Greece, during which she met with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, Shipping and Aegean Minister Costas Mousouroulis, as well as Public Order and Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Dendias, and visited several registration and detention centres in northern parts of the country.

At a press conference, following her meetings, Malmstrom noted that "there is programme, planning, coordination and political will."

The Commissioner acknowledged the progress made with the creation of new migrant reception centres and a migrant readmission programme currently in operation, noting, however, that a better asylum granting system will have to be set up to quickly respond to relevant requests.

She further added that living conditions in certain reception centres need improvement. She also said that the EU is taking into account the intense pressure stemming from illegal migration -involving mostly third country nationals smuggled into Greece via neighbouring Turkey- as well as the economic crisis and pledged that the European Commission will closely cooperate with Athens to prepare a Common European Asylum System.