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 has suspended asylum claims for migrants arriving from North Africa, drawing sharp criticism from rights groups and the UN over legality and human rights.

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". Plevris -- formerly a member of the far-right LAOS party and now part of Mitsotakis's New Democracy party -- has called the recent influx an "invasion from North Africa".