Europe’s refugee crisis poses a great challenge for Greece. While in 2004, the country registered 77.000 arrivals and arrests, the number of refugees at the Aegean Sea reached 780,000 registrations in 2015, constituting an unprecedented 1000% increase in refugee flows. In his talk, Dimitris Christopolous will explain how Greece – itself in a difficult position due to the financial situation – reacted to this refugee influx and what the deficits and achievements of the government are. Looking at the role of Germany, the EU-Turkey deal, and the future of Schengen, he will also situate the handling of the refugee crisis within the contemporary European discourse and discuss sustainable and human short- and long-term strategies for managing the refugee issue in Greece and in the EU.