Europe News
EU tops up aid to Greek asylum system by 13 million dollars
Dec 15, 2010, 12:34 GMT
Brussels - The European Union is sending almost 10 million euros (13 million dollars) and two teams of experts to Greece as the latest aid to help the country deal with a tide of asylum seekers, EU officials said Wednesday.
Greece in recent months has sent out repeated pleas for EU help after the number of asylum seekers entering the country rose sharply. The EU has already deployed border patrols to help guard the frontier, but has criticized Greece's asylum system.
'The humanitarian situation of migrants and asylum-seekers in Greece is extremely worrying. Improving the reception facilities is very urgent,' EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said in a statement published in Brussels.
The EU is sending Greece 9.8 million euros in aid and dispatching two expert teams to 'assist the Greek authorities in supporting the reform of the national asylum system,' the statement said.
The funding will 'focus on increasing the accommodation capacity, including the provision of basic services to the persons in need, setting up mobile medical units, and institutional support to process asylum claims,' it said.
Greece has a poor reputation for dealing with asylum seekers and has regularly been criticized by human-rights bodies for the conditions in which it detains them.
The Greek government is currently overhauling the asylum system, but is faced by massive budget cuts triggered by its financial collapse earlier this year, making reforms difficult.
Read more about Asylum
Read more about EU Migration
Read more about Greece
COMMENT
blog comments powered by DisqusLatest Headlines in Europe
- 1. Pope in Easter message calls for peace and religious tolerance
- 2. Magnificent Messi leads Barcelona to ninth straight win
- 3. Pope leads Easter vigil, calls for "true enlightenment"
- 4. Barcelona increase pressure on Real with romp in Zaragoza
- 5. Pope Benedict XVI leads Easter Vigil
Older Talkback
