Many small children were among more than 30 migrants who drowned in the Mediterrenean. Migrant rescue NGOs have accused the Libyan Coast Guard of shooting at migrant boats, and the closing of the notorious refugee camp at Elliniko airport in Athens is under way. This and more in today's news roundup.
This picture shows Greek and refugee school children who came together in Salonica in northern Greece to celebrate solidarity in a special event organized by regional education authorities.
Hundreds of migrants will be transferred from the makeshift camp at the old Athens Elliniko airport to other facilities in Greece. Despite demands by human rights organizations, no deadlines were set as of yet.
The UNHCR is expanding its humanitarian programs in Libya. A new predeparture camp is being built for migrants on the Greek island of Chios and migrants have brought in almost 4 billion Euros in the past six years for traffickers. All this and more in today's news roundup.
Chios' municipal council has approved a motion to set up a new center to detain migrants slated for deportation. Refugees not eligible for asylum will be sent back to Turkey.
2,100 migrants who tried to reach Europe from Libya were rescued over the weekend, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi has demanded that Libya release refugees from its detention centers and read Italian news agency ANSA's special report on human smugglers advertizing on social networks.
A Greek court has sentenced 15 people to jail in connection with one of the largest migrant and refugee smuggling gangs in northern Greece.
The European Union has suspended funding to a non-government organization (NGO) in Greece which is helping refugees and migrants pending an investigation into allegations of sexual exploitation and financial corruption.
The German government has significantly cut back on family reunions for refugees arriving from Greece, local media reported. Germany has taken in over a million people and is facing "limited capacity."
This archive photograph shows refugees at a camp in the village of Mersinidi on Chios island in Greece. The island will get a new refugee center to help local authorities and police deal with the situation in the wake of recent violent clashes at existing camps.
Based on Commission proposals, the Justice and Home Affairs Council adopted in September 2015 two Decisions to relocate 160,000 asylum seekers from Italy and Greece, to assist them in dealing with the pressures of the refugee crisis.
Some 75,000 refugees and migrants, 24,600 of them children,are currently stranded in Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary and the western Balkans. They are at risk of long term psychological trauma caused by a prolonged state of uncertainty.