There are significant delays in the creation of new infrastructure for asylum seekers on the islands of Chios and Lesvos and at the Evros border outpost after the Council of State accepted the request for imposition of temporary breaks in the tender process.
Police in North Macedonia say officers discovered 82 migrants hidden in vehicles in two separate operations Friday.
![Greece’s Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarakis attends Tuesday’s meeting of the EU’s Home Affairs Council. [Zucchi Enzo/European Union/ANA-MPA]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/EU-Mitarakis-ANA-320x200.jpg)
The European Union remains sharply divided on migration, with the five Mediterranean “first reception” countries – Greece among them – demanding guarantees that arriving migrants and refugees will be evenly distributed across the bloc.ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ/European Union/Zucchi-Enzo
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Almost 9 months after a fire gutted a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos, work on a new reception center has still not begun despite pledges to have the facility built before next winter, Greece’s migration minister confirmed Wednesday.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) revealed on Wednesday that 456 children in the migrant camp of Lesvos had to be treated for mental health problems between 2019 and 2020, including 32 unaccompanied minors.
Greece is seeking to stem migrant flows from Turkey by declaring the neighboring country as a safe destination for asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria.
The European Union’s border and coast guard agency is being given additional tasks, like playing a greater role in the deportation of migrants, at a time when it is incapable even of fulfilling the duties it was ordered to carry out five years ago, the European Court of Auditors warned Monday.
Turkey has been designated as a safe country for asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia, according to a Joint Ministerial Decision issued by the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry for Migration and Asylum.
Greek police said Friday a car suspected to have been ferrying migrants from the Turkish border toward the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki crashed, killing two people and injuring six.
When it is common knowledge that Greece has a demographic problem which constitutes an immediate threat, when we all know that in the past few years the labor market has been upended by the long crisis and the pandemic, one can only wonder why the Interior Ministry would choose to hinder people who are already here and want to be part of the country’s future from applying for residence permits or citizenship.
The vaccination drive for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants began yesterday at the reception and identification centers on the eastern Aegean islands of Chios, Lesvos and Samos.
![A migrant holds her baby as she receives a shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine against the coronavirus disease in the Mavrovouni camp for refugees and migrants on the island of Lesvos, Thursday. [Reuters]](https://www.ekathimerini.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/lesvos_vaccination_Reuters-320x200.jpg)
Asylum-seekers in Greece lined up to get their coronavirus shots on Thursday as authorities began rolling out vaccinations in migrant camps.
The European Union expressed concern Thursday about Greece’s use of a sound cannon to scare migrants away from its borders, raising questions over whether the device contravenes the 27-nation bloc’s laws on fundamental rights.
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The vaccination drive for asylum applicants, refugees, and migrants began on Thursday at the Reception and Identification Centers on the islands of Chios, Lesvos, and Samos.
Greece will start vaccinating the migrant and refugee population on the eastern Aegean islands against Covid-19 on Thursday.
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The problematic conditions experienced by LGBTQ asylum seekers and refugees was revealed by a survey on Monday, including vague directions during the asylum application and examination process, precarious housing situations, discrimination in the workplace or public services, and attacks from fellow refugees.
