The state of Berlin is planning its own relocation initiative to bring 300 vulnerable refugees from Greece to Germany. The draft decree is on the table for discussion in the state senate Tuesday.
The state government of Berlin is proposing to relocate 300 refugees from the Greek Islands to Berlin by June 2021. The decree, which is pending appproval by the Senate, was drafted by Berlin's state senator for interior affairs, Andreas Geisel, who is a member of the social democratic party SPD.
The Berlin daily Tagesspiegel on Monday cited from the draft plan, which reportedly was conceived due to "desolate humanitarian conditions" in Greek refugee camps such as Moria, which currently holds 17,000 people over capacity.
So far, only 47 refugee children have been brought to Germany as part of a pledge by several European nations to relocate up to 1,600 children. Of the 47 children, eight were accommodated in Berlin at the beginning of May -- they were all Afghan boys between 8-14 years old.
The coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions have stalled transfers and resettlement programs since early March.
Tagesspiegel further reported that candidates for relocation would be chosen by two departments of the Berlin Senate -- the one responsible for education and the one for integration -- along with the UNHCR, medical staff as well as the Greek authorities, reports the news agency KNA. The identification of refugees would be completed by the end of July.