Greek lawmakers voted on Friday to temporarily stop processing asylum requests from migrants arriving from North Africa by sea in a bid to reduce arrivals into Europe's southernmost tip, a move rights groups and opposition parties have called illegal.

Greece on Friday enforced a three-month freeze on asylum claims from migrants arriving by boat from North Africa, to stem a surge from Libya that the government has called an "invasion".

The suspension passed by a vote of 177-74 despite fierce opposition from left-wing parties, which unsuccessfully challenged the amendment as unconstitutional. View on euronews