Greece, located at a crossroads between the East and the West, requires continuous support from the European Union to be able to cope with the incoming migrant flows from Turkey, the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) spokesperson in Greece, Stella Nanou, told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2020) Greece, located at a crossroads between the East and the West, requires continuous support from the European Union to be able to cope with the incoming migrant flows from Turkey, the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR) spokesperson in Greece, Stella Nanou, told Sputnik in an interview.
Concerns over a new surge in migrants seeking refuge in Europe emerged after Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu suggested in mid-May that the new wave of migrants would follow in the wake of lifting the coronavirus lockdowns in Turkey and Greece. The situation in refugee camps on the Greek Aegean islands is devastating, as the facilities are hosting migrants far beyond their capacity, exceeding the limits by tens of thousands of people, and due to the lack of proper shelter, food and basic sanitation, migrants are exposed to all types of viruses and infections.
"In the refugee response, Greece needs to continue to be supported by European countries and EU institutions, in ensuring the immediate protection of those most at risk through continued resources, capacity in the country and by sharing the responsibility through expedited relocations of unaccompanied children and other vulnerable people," Nanou said.
The UNHCR official added that the arrivals of migrants would most likely continue, and thus people should be "granted access to asylum procedures, according to the relevant international human rights and refugee protection standards."
So far, the European Union's response concerning the Greek migrant crisis has mainly included funding. The EU leadership has pledged 700 million Euros ($781 million) to Greece to help it keep back some 35,000 migrants who bulked up on the Greek-Turkish border after Ankara briefly abandoned its commitment of curbing the Europe-bound migrant flow.
In mid-March, Ankara closed its north-western land border along Evros as a COVID-19 restriction measure.
