According to the Dublin deal, asylum seekers are sent back to the state through which they first entered the European Union (EU). This could result in major problems for Greece due to the number of people coming in mainly from the Aegean islands.

Mouzalas says that the situation in his country has reached saturation point in terms of refugee and migrant numbers, and that it would be a mistake on the part of the EU to burden Greece further. "Greece is already carrying a heavy load; we are hosting 60,000 refugees," he said in an interview with German magazine "Der Spiegel," adding that the proportion of refugees to the overall population was comparable to that in Germany.

"We have just managed to address the situation regarding the housing of refugees on the mainland and we are still in the process of solving the many issues on the islands. Our position is clear: we can't accommodate even one more refugee," he added.

Police arrest smugglers

In related developments over the weekend, Greek police said they arrested a Turkish and a Bulgarian truck driver who were carrying 20 migrants near Greece's northeastern border with Turkey. According to police, the Turkish driver was carrying eight Pakistanis, one Iraqi and one Syrian while the Bulgarian driver, who was arrested last Friday, was carrying 10 Pakistani men.

Police say they arrest around 400 people trying to cross the border from Turkey into Greece illegally, however an increase is expected as the weather begins to improve. Migrants crossing the Greek-Turkey land border are not covered by the EU-Turkey agreement on refugees, which allows for refugees to be sent back to Turkey. Those who are admitted in Greece as refugees, mostly from Syria and Iraq, are processed for resettlement, while others such as Pakistanis are deported.

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