Last refugee flight from Greek Islands lands in Germany
The last flight carrying recognized refugees from the Greek Islands landed in Germany on Thursday, April 22. On board were 103 people, including several children.
The last flight carrying recognized refugees from the Greek Islands landed in Germany on Thursday, April 22. On board were 103 people, including several children.
After the final relocation flight with refugees from Greek camps landed in Germany this week, German aid organizations criticized the end to resettlement from Lesbos and demanded an extension. Since April 2020, Germany has taken in a total of 2,662 people from the Greek Aegean Islands.
Another flight has landed in Germany, bringing with it 162 refugees who had previously been in Greek migrant camps. They are part of a contingent of recognized refugees that Germany agreed to relocate from Greece.
In the five years since an agreement was brought in between the EU and Turkey, some 28,621 Syrian refugees have been relocated to EU countries from Turkish camps. NGOs continue to criticize the accord.
Close to 300 refugees and migrants were flown to Germany from Greece this week -- around half of them minors. These two latest flights bring the total number of vulnerable people Germany has taken in from the Greek Aegean Islands since April 2020 to nearly 2,000.
116 refugees who had been living in Greek camps flew into the German city of Hanover on Wednesday, February 17. The group was composed of 53 adults and 63 children.
Several humanitarian organizations have sent an appeal to Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese. They want her to immediately allow church charities to carry out five flights to evacuate vulnerable migrants from Libya to Italy.
The UN migration agency IOM has helped to relocate 270 migrants from Malta to other European countries this year. More than eight times as many arrived on the island in the past 12 months.
A total of 99 refugees and asylum seekers arrived in the German city of Hanover on Thursday. Among them: sick children and their families, as well as unaccompanied minors. They are part of two contingents that Germany has agreed to take in from overcrowded camps in Greece.
EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson, speaking at Med Dialogues 2020 in Rome, highlighted that the new EU Pact on Migration "represents a new beginning" in which "the central element is to strengthen cooperation with our neighbors and with our partners."
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on November 12 assisted the first group of asylum seekers to relocate from Italy to Spain since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The UN agency said 15 asylum seekers were transferred from Rome to Madrid.
Another flight from Greece has brought more than 100 refugees to Germany, around half of them sick children and their close relatives as well as unaccompanied minors. This brings to over 1,000 the number of people Germany has taken in since April.