Hot spots and refugee shelters to be funded by EU
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
So-called "hot spots" and temporary shelters for Middle East refugees being established in Greece will be funded by the European Union, Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Yiannis Mouzalas said on Tuesday, as he completed a two-day visit to the islands most affected by the refugee crisis – Chios and Lesvos.
“This was discussed two days ago during a meeting of European leaders and it must now take the form of a regular meeting in order to start implementation,” he said, adding that he also examined the full modernization of the "hot spots" being set up to cut the waiting time of refugees and irregular migrants to two days.
“No refugee who arrives here should stay more than two days. They should be registered fast so that the person can then travel to the chosen destination,” he said.
The purpose of the minister’s visit to the two islands was to examine temporary solutions to avoid the havoc caused during the last few days when third country nationals, mainly from Afghanistan, were made to wait in the pouring rain.
Mouzalas also said Europe has to understand that Greece on the path of refugee flows towards Europe. “Greece is part of the pathway. The door is in Turkey.”
