The illegal immigration situation in the EU has "significantly improved," with 30,000 irregular crossings of EU borders since the start of 2019, Fabrice Leggeri, the director of the European Union border agency Frontex, said in a recent interview.
Hundreds of children in Greece are in desperate need of the warmth and safety of a family. Some of them have lost their own parents on treacherous migration routes to Europe, leaving them alone and vulnerable. A non-governmental organization, METAdrasi, runs a foster care program for these children so that they can stay in a secure and loving environment while they wait for authorities to track down family members in the EU.
At least seven people including two small children have been reported dead after a boat carrying migrants sank in the Aegean Sea. 57 others were rescued, the Greek coast guard said.
The Greek coast guard arrested five people for alleged migrant smuggling on Sunday. The ring that transported migrants from Greece to Italy had been active for months, the coast guard said.
Thousands of refugees and migrants make a new start in the EU every year. After the recent European elections, Marianna Karakoulaki spoke to some of those who have made Greece their home about the problems they see.
Recently in Greece over 2000 students, from Greek and migrant backgrounds, participated in a competition to express their thoughts on the meaning of home. Over 100 students won prizes in the contest, which was meant to help improve attitudes towards refugees in the country.
The migrants were trying to get from Turkey to EU country Greece, which has seen a large number of arrivals recently. Boats continue to arrive despite the pact between the EU and Turkey, which allows Greece to sent rejected asylum seekers back to Turkey.
The UN agency for migration has reported that at least 519 migrants have died in the Mediterranean since the start of 2019. Over half of the victims died between the coasts of Italy and Malta. Meanwhile, Greece has become the top destination for migrants.
There were significantly more migrants that came from Turkey to Greece in May. On the Aegean islands, there are now over 15,000 migrants in camps that were designed to hold less than 9,000. Meanwhile, most refugees in Greece asking to be reunited with family members in Germany are rejected.
The European Committee of Social Rights of the Council of Europe is calling on Greece to adopt all possible measures to avoid serious harm to minor migrants on the country's mainland and islands.
The Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings says more help is needed for victims. Ten years after a law against trafficking was introduced, the group says victims are still not getting adequate medical, social and legal support.
Greeks are mostly empathetic towards migrants and refugees. But a survey of attitudes towards national identity, immigration, and refugees in Greece has also found that many people are worried about the impact of migrants on overstretched public resources.