Minister admits migrant problem worse than predicted, blames Hungary-Serbia border wall
As hundreds of undocumented migrants continue to arrive on Greece's Aegean islands daily, Alternate Minister for Immigration Policy Tasia Christodoulopoulou conceded that the problem was bigger than authorities had anticipated.
"All the predictions we have made were overwhelmingly proved to be wrong as the problem with migrants on the islands is more serious than in urban centers and that's where we reallyneed reception centers," the minister told Skai on Monday.
According to Christodoulopoulou, there is an explanation behind the spike in arrivals: the fact that Hungary is building a wall along its border with Serbia to stem immigration flows. As a result, she said, migrants are attempting to get through before the wall's completion which is expected by the end of August.
As regards the situation on the eastern Aegean island o Kos, where more than 1,000 Syrians have boarded a large ferry that has anchored off the island, she said the measures that have been taken are a temporary solution aimed at relieving congestion.
She claimed that local authorities had "sabotaged" alternative solutions proposed by the government such as using a hotel for temporary accommodation.
More than 1,700 migrants have been intercepted over the past three days in the eastern Aegean which has borne the brunt of this summer's influx of migrants.
