Europe – Migrants
The European Union will Wednesday announce plans for emergency aid to Greece which is struggling to cope with an influx of migrants with thousands stuck in misery at its border after Balkan states tightened their frontiers.
Greece has asked for around 480 million euros ($520 million) to help shelter 100,000 refugees as Europe faces its biggest wave of refugees since World War II in a crisis that has sown deep discord and threatened the bloc's solidarity.
NATO’s top General Philip Breedlove warned that the massive flow of people into the EU particularly from war-torn Syria has had a destabilizing effect.
Greece has been struggling to cope with the influx of migrants who have been arriving en masse from neighboring Turkey.
EU humanitarian aid commissioner Christos Stylianides said on Twitter that he would Wednesday propose “an instrument for emergency assistance inside the EU.” He confirmed that “Greece asks for more assistance for stranded refugees ... I call on all member states to contribute further.”
The money will come from aid funds that would normally be spent on humanitarian emergencies outside the bloc.
A Greek source told AFP said about half the total would go on accommodating 50,000 refugees in camps while the rest would go on hotels and lodgings.
Greece says looking after the migrants will require around 8,200 officials — police, firemen, medical staff, field workers and translators.
S/SH 11
string(2277) "[{"id":"1787911","sort":"3503977","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/10/alalam_635906929731870895_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"VDO Shows Rescue of Lone Survivor of Boat that Sank and killed 27 Migrants"} ,{"id":"1790352","sort":"3503976","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/17/alalam_635913247191646415_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Belgium Police Mark Migrants with Indelible Ink"} ,{"id":"1792351","sort":"3503975","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/23/alalam_635918372329185512_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Germany Criticizes ‘Shameful’ Attacks on Migrants in Saxony"} ,{"id":"1792368","sort":"3503974","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/23/alalam_635918406460830420_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Thousands of Migrants Stuck in Greece as Macedonia Limits Entry"} ,{"id":"1792399","sort":"3503973","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/23/alalam_635918476919383862_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"IOM: Migrants Flow to Europe Surpasses 110,000 in 2016"} ,{"id":"1792620","sort":"3503972","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/24/alalam_635919155189813410_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Amnesty International Slams Europe ‘Shameful’ Response to Migrants"} ,{"id":"1792754","sort":"3503971","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/24/alalam_635919395390184009_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Reducing Migrants ‘Question of Survival for EU’: Austria"} ,{"id":"1792766","sort":"3503970","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/24/alalam_635919423393674078_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"VIDEO: About 200,000 Migrants Stranded in Greece as Bottleneck Grows"} ,{"id":"1792995","sort":"3503969","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/25/alalam_635920110823021744_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"VIDEO, Warning for New Influx to Europe: 1 Million Migrants Are on the Way"} ,{"id":"1793894","sort":"3503968","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/28/alalam_635922639935014324_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"Greece Says up to 70,000 Migrants May Be ‘Trapped’ Next Month"} ,{"id":"1794158","sort":"3503967","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/02/29/alalam_635923387192498705_25f_4x3.jpg","title":"PICS & VIDEO: 22,000 Migrants Left Stranded in Greece, Nowhere to Go"} ,{"id":"1794613","sort":"3503966","contenttypeid":"21","pic":"/2016/03/01/alalam_635924625955387394_25f_4x3.mp4","title":"European Union Court Says Germany Can Tell Some Migrants Where to Live"} ]"