Following the security response focussed on the protection of Greece's external borders (see EUROPE 12439/1), the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Friday 6 March that support would be given to Greece to relieve the camps on the Greek islands. This would include, in particular, help for unaccompanied minors to be received in other Member States.
The President, according to a press release, has therefore sent the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, to Greece next week to meet with the ministers responsible and see what help can be arranged for minors.
There are currently more than 42,000 migrants who have taken refuge in the Greek islands, including in Moria, the overcrowded camp on the island of Lesbos. Out of these 42,000, approximately 5,000 are unaccompanied minors.
Working on a voluntary basis, a few Member States have already indicated to the Greek authorities their willingness to take charge of a few minors. On Wednesday, at the extraordinary meeting of interior ministers, Germany, Finland, Luxembourg and France all volunteered to receive young, isolated migrants. The German Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, also called for a coalition of willing countries to be formed.
At the end of 2019, the Greek government had complained that its appeal to European countries for help in dealing with unaccompanied migrants had gone unheeded, and that only Portugal had said they were willing to relieve Greece.
Following the President's announcements on the ground on Friday, the European Commission has also announced that 14 Member States have already responded to Greece's request to activate the civil protection mechanism. More than 70,000 items of equipment have been sent to assist Greece at the Greek-Turkish border, the Commission said.
On the ground—despite the Commission's official communication refusing to criticise the decisions taken in Athens, such as the decision to suspend the lodging of asylum applications for a month—images of violence against migrants camped on the Turkish side continue to circulate on social networks. Migrants interviewed by AFP reported violence and the confiscation of their personal belongings.
The European Parliament will take up the issue next week in plenary in Brussels, with a debate scheduled for Wednesday.
In addition, 85 Greek and international NGOs condemned the actions of Greek security forces in a letter sent to the country's officials, Oxfam said in a statement. They denounce the fate of the thousands of people used as “political blackmail money”, as well as the “climate of panic” and “asymmetric threat rhetoric” conveyed by the Greek government. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)