ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The European Union’s top migration official said Thursday that deportations were a key priority for the bloc's executive branch, as Greece grapples with a high number of people arriving illegally across the country's borders.
“The topic of returns is something we have to deliver, definitely,” EU migration commissioner Magnus Brunner told Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during a visit to Athens.
The Austrian conservative, who assumed the migration and internal affairs post in late 2024, stressed the importance of implementing the EU’s new Migration and Asylum Pact.
“There are some things to do, of course, some things ahead of us. Implementing the pact is one of them,” Brunner said.
Greece, a major entry point for migrants into the EU, has advocated for stricter immigration controls.
“Greece is a country that has found itself on the forefront of the migration crisis for many, many years,” Mitsotakis said, expressing satisfaction with EU policy shifts toward external border protection and increased focus on returns.
In a rescue operation Thursday, Greek authorities responded to 36 migrants aboard a vessel spotted by a Maltese-flagged tanker 30 nautical miles (nearly 35 statute miles) southeast of the remote island of Gavdos island. Coast guard vessels escorted the migrants to a port on the nearby island of Crete, authorities said.
The commissioner’s Athens visit follows a recent European Court of Human Rights ruling that found Greece had illegally deported a Turkish national, describing pushbacks as “systematic.” Greece strongly denies engaging in pushbacks, maintaining it implements a “strict, but fair” migration policy.
The country recorded more than 60,000 migrants arriving illegally in 2024. It followed an increase of nearly 50% in the rate of sea arrivals over the past 18 months.
Greece is seeking direct EU funding to expand its border wall along the Turkish frontier.
Follow AP’s coverage of migration issues at https://apnews.com/hub/migration
The European Union's new commissioner for migration, Magnus Brunner, left, speaks with Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis during their discussions on Europe's migration pact and border protections in Athens, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
The European Union's new commissioner for migration, Magnus Brunner attends a meeting with Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
The European Union's new commissioner for migration, Magnus Brunner, right, shakes hands with Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis before their discussions on Europe's migration pact and border protections in Athens, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Fighting raged Saturday morning along the border of Thailand and Cambodia, even after U.S. President Donald Trump, acting as a mediator, declared that he had won agreement from both countries for a new ceasefire.
Thai officials said they did not agree to a ceasefire. Cambodia has not commented directly on Trump’s claim, but its defense ministry said Thai jets carried out airstrikes Saturday morning.
Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Saturday that some of Trump's remarks didn't “reflect an accurate understanding of the situation.”
He said Trump’s characterization of a land mine explosion that wounded Thai soldiers as a “roadside accident” was inaccurate, and did not reflect Thailand's position that it was a deliberate act of aggression.
Sihasak said that Trump’s willingness to credit what may be “information from sources that deliberately distorted the facts” instead of believing Thailand hurt the feelings of the Thai people “because we consider ourselves — we are proud, in fact — to be the oldest treaty ally of the United States in the region.”
The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish on Dec. 7 that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a ceasefire promoted by Trump that ended five days of earlier combat in July over longstanding territorial disputes.
The July ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through by pressure from Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges unless Thailand and Cambodia agreed. It was formalized in more detail in October at a regional meeting in Malaysia that Trump attended.
More than two dozen people on both sides of the border have officially been reported killed in this past week’s fighting, while more than half a million have been displaced.
The Thai military acknowledged 15 of its troops died during the fighting, and estimated earlier this week that there have been 165 fatalities among Cambodian soldiers. Cambodia has not announced military casualties, but has said at least 11 civilians have been killed and more than six dozen wounded.
Trump, after speaking to Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, announced on Friday an agreement to restart the ceasefire.
“They have agreed to CEASE all shooting effective this evening, and go back to the original Peace Accord made with me, and them, with the help of the Great Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post.
Trump’s claim came after midnight in Bangkok. Thai Prime Minister Anutin had, after his call with Trump, said he had explained Thailand’s reasons for fighting and said peace would depend on Cambodia ceasing its attacks first.
The Thai foreign ministry later explicitly disputed Trump’s claim that a ceasefire had been reached. Anutin's busy day on Friday included dissolving Parliament, so new elections could be held early next year.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, in comments posted early Saturday morning, also made no mention of a ceasefire.
Hun Manet said he held phone conversations on Friday night with Trump, and a night earlier with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and thanked both “for their continuous efforts to achieve a long-lasting peace between Cambodia and Thailand.”
“Cambodia is ready to cooperate in any way that is needed," Hun Manet wrote.
Anwar later posted on social media that he was urging the two sides to implement a ceasefire on Saturday night. Cambodia's prime minister, also posting online, endorsed the initiative, which included having Malaysia and the United States help monitor it. However, Thai Prime Minister Anutin denied that his country was even in negotiations over the proposal.
Thailand has been carrying out airstrikes on what it says are strictly military targets, while Cambodia has been firing thousands of medium-range BM-21 rockets that have caused havoc but relatively few casualties.
BM-21 rocket launchers can fire up to 40 rockets at a time with a range of 30-40 kilometers (19-25 miles). These rockets cannot be precisely targeted and have landed largely in areas from where most people have already been evacuated.
However, the Thai army announced Saturday that BM-21 rockets had hit a civilian area in Sisaket province, seriously injuring two civilians who had heard warning sirens and had been running toward a bunker for safety.
Thailand's navy was also reported by both sides' militaries to have joined the fighting on Saturday morning, with a warship in the Gulf of Thailand shelling Cambodia's southwestern province of Koh Kong. Each side said the other opened fire first.
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Peck reported from Bangkok. Sopheng Cheang in Serei Saophoan, Cambodia, and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
A man sits in a tent as he takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
An evacuee cooks soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
An evacuee tastes soup as she takes refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing from home following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees cook food as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Children raise their hands while receiving donation from charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Evacuees wait to receive donation from local charity as they take refuge in Banteay Menchey provincial town, Cambodia, Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, after fleeing homes following fighting between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Village security volunteers and resident run into shelter while the blasts sounded too close in Buriram province, Thailand, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, following renewed border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
