ATHENS – EU To Offer Money To Migrants. European Union and Greek officials, on Thursday, said 5,000 asylum seekers on Greek islands would be given financial incentives to return home. This is to relieve pressure on overwhelmed camps.
According to details, EU home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson is on a visit to Athens. After talks there, he said “the plan is available for a month only and is based on a 2,000-euro stipend. This amount is only open to those who arrived in Greece before January 1. We have now agreed on a special temporary assisted voluntary return scheme for a period of one month.”
However, the offer does not apply to refugees who arrived during a two-week surge enabled by Turkey. As a result of the surge, Greece has announced it will not accept new asylum applications until April. The surge was also accompanied by skirmishes at the border between migrants and Greek and Turkish riot police. EU To Offer Money To Migrants.
Hundreds of people have arrived by sea on Greek islands near Turkey. There are already more than 37,000 asylum seekers in camps originally built to house around 6,000. In May, Greece is to host a conference on the hundreds of unaccompanied minors.
Seven EU states have already pledged to take at least 1,600 unaccompanied minors and children. We are still lacking a common policy for European migration and asylum,” Johansson said, adding that she would present proposals next month.