The EU Civil Protection Mechanism, originally conceived to cope with natural disasters such as earthquakes, will provide EU supplies of tents, generators and other equipment to help Greece accommodate people over the winter.
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Greece’s financially-strapped government says it has spent about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) addressing the migrant crisis and only received 30 million euros in European Union aid.
The classification of refugees on the basis of nationalities is unacceptable, Greek Deputy Minister for Migration Policy Yannis Mouzalas stressed in statements to Greek media.
The FT’s report can be read in full here.
A day ago, Mouzalas said some in the European Union “mistakenly believe that the refugee flow can be controlled from Greece”.
A migrant boat is pulled ashore by aid workers after making the crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos on November 17, 2015 in Sikaminias, Greece.
Mouzalas told euronews that those reports were “a lie”, insisting Athens had asked for reinforcements from Frontex, the EU’s border agency.
European foreign ministers are due to meet on Friday to discuss the migrant crisis.
Violence had also broken out over the weekend as Macedonian crews raced to complete a three-kilometre (1.8-mile) fence on the frontier.
Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Roivas told Reuters that European Union states should show Greece understanding and that suspending it from Schengen would not be helpful: “The problem is definitely there and I do know that we need to work together to solve it. But building fences between us is not a long-term solution”.
So far, more than 886,000 people have arrived on Europe’s shores this year – about four times more than last year, according to the UN.
At least two of the Paris attackers were confirmed to have passed registration on the Greek island of Leros in October, posing as refugees. But it would be an irritant for Greeks traveling to other countries.
“Please don’t downplay the role of security”. About 3,000 have died or gone missing this year trying to reach Europe.
Athens also notes that most of the Paris attackers, who were French and Belgian nationals, were also able to evade detection elsewhere in Europe. That is what a declaration by Greek government spokesperson Olga Gerovasili reads in connection with publications about refugee issue, the Greek Embassy in Sofia announced. “The moment of truth will be the December European Council”, the official said, referring to the next meeting of EU leaders in Brussels in two weeks’ time. Police have fired warning shots in the air to repel the migrants.
“But we aren’t there yet”, the source added, while admitting that “there is growing impatience with Greece among some member states”.
“We simply can not put up having a member state which has openly given up on safeguarding the Schengen region boundaries”.
The Hungarian government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban said it would follow neighbouring Slovakia in filing a complaint at the European Court of Justice against the plan.
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Under the EU’s quota system, Bratislava is expected to take in just under 2,300 migrants.
