The group said its staff were seeing around 4,500 arrivals per day at the end of September and the figure was as low as 2,711 on October 1.
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An IOM spokesman said: “Migrants and refugees have to pay for their own tickets for all their transport in Greece and, according to people interviewed by IOM, nationality has become an important factor in determining how quickly they can leave the islands and travel to the Macedonia border”.
Guterres said the overwhelming numbers of people arriving in Europe are creating tension and chaotic conditions for many countries.
Germany expects to take more than one million refugees this year, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s deputy said, as a poll showed nearly half of Germans believe she is handling the influx of asylum seekers badly.
Those deemed to warrant refugee status can then be relocated to other European Union countries to ease the burden on Greece and Italy and to prevent the migrants from continuing northwards in an uncontrolled manner.
In the past week, Sweden has counted 8,899 asylum-seekers, including 1,609 just on Thursday.
Another of their countrymen was not so lucky: a 17 year old was seriously injured after he apparently jumped on a Eurotunnel shuttle from France to Britain.
Italian Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, who was on hand to bid the Eritreans farewell, has said the transfer is proof that Europe has finally changed its migration policy.
By accepting the plan and implementing it, Ankara “would also contribute to accelerate Turkey’s fulfilment of the visa liberalization roadmap benchmarks”, the text said, referring to Ankara’s long-held desire to smooth travel for its citizens.
At a joint news conference Friday, Justice Minister Morgan Johansson said Sweden had reached “a very dramatic stage” and had so far received more than 115,000 applications this year.
UNHCR southern Europe spokeswoman, Carlotta Sami, told AFP that Friday’s first flight was a significant moment.
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The EU’s scheme provides for the relocation of individuals thought to have a good chance of being granted asylum and it has been accompanied by moves to speed up repatriations of those deemed to be economic migrants.
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European Union nations endorsed a dedicated programme this week to send back those they described as economic migrants – who are largely from poor African nations – and not refugees from conflict zones.
