The problem worsened over the summer when hundreds of thousands more people fleeing wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan arrived in Greece and the Balkans via Turkey.
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For the first time in 11 days, no new fatalities involving migrants were reported in the Aegean Sea, with good weather conditions on Saturday helping refugees safely make the short but often perilous journey from Turkey’s coast to the eastern Greek islands.
A wooden boat carrying migrants to the Greek island of Lesbos sank in a storm off Canakkale, the report said, adding that 27 people were rescued.
The boat hit rocks shortly after leaving Ayvacik but continued on its risky crossing toward Lesbos, said regional governor Hamza Erkal.
The Greek premier said that if the European Union is going to provide money for the construction of reception centers on Turkish soil, then Ankara has to commit to allowing the relocation of refugees to take place directly from these camps.
The country’s state-run news agency said Wednesday that at least 14 people died when the boat sank. “Humanity is watching from the sidelines”, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on hearing of the latest tragedies.
European and African leaders are due to meet in Malta to discuss the refugee crisis with the EU.
Asselborn noted that the numbers of migrants arriving on Greek islands, averaging more than 5,000 a day, was more than Athens could cope with, prompting the proposal for further facilities along the transit route from Greece through the Balkans. Erdogan was referring to the 3-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi whose dead body washed up on a Turkish beach in September.
Turkey has become a launching point for refugees trying to reach Europe’s front states of Greece and Italy.
Justice Minister Anders Anundsen says the current center-right government plans to reduce benefits for refugees up to 20 percent and introduce tighter immigration rules to stem the flow of asylum seekers to Norway.
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“The fact that lives are being saved and that essential needs nonetheless are still being met is something that is important to realize…We have been ensuring people are not dying or exposed to additional risks”, she said.
