Greece's five major islands in the eastern Aegean are to receive a major cash injection to the tune of 50 million euros in EU funding as they continue to bear the brunt of the influx of migrants and refugees into the country. The mayors of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros and Kos - the islands worst hit by the refugee crisis - have announced that the European Union has pledged this amount for "emergency assistance" following their recent trip to Brussels.
The Greek public officials held a joint press conference on their return from the Belgian capital, where they met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker, Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Christos Stylianides, chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas and other high-ranking EU personnel. They revealed that the 50 million euros will be distributed equally between the five islands to help them implement measures to tackle the effects of overcrowded camps and new arrivals, which have dropped significantly in recent weeks. The five mayors also added that they are expecting a visit from Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cretu, while Avramopoulos is also expected to return to Lesbos - where the problems at the Moria camp are particularly acute - on March 16 with Greece's migration minister, Yiannis Mouzalas In related developments, the International Organization for Migration has published fresh data showing that from the start of the year up until March 8, a total of 2,724 migrants and refugees have entered Greece. Of those arrivals, 1,521 were recorded in January and 1,091 in February, a remarkable drop from the 134,048 arrivals recorded in the same two-month period last year, before the signing of the return agreement between the EU and Turkey.
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