European Commission to Pay 700 Million Euros to Assist Migrants in Greece

The European Commission announced on Wednesday that it would allocate 700 million euros in aid to Greece in light of the increasing number of refugees in Greece.

The closure of borders in Balkan countries has worsened the situation of refugees trapped in the country. According to the commission’s announcement, 300 million euros of the allocated budget will be paid to Greece this year, with the remaining amount to be provided to the country’s authorities in two tranches by 2018.

According to Greek officials, currently more than 25,000 refugees are living in Greece and remain there due to the closure of Macedonia’s borders. Greece’s Ministry of Migration estimates that if the borders of Macedonia and other Balkan countries are not opened to these migrants, the number could exceed 70,000 by the end of March.

Entezar, a pregnant migrant from Mosul, is one of hundreds of migrants stationed in a temporary camp on the Greece-Macedonia border. She complains of the cold and illness, saying: “We need clothes for our children and a place to stay. Look at our tent—seven of us live here. And we even bought these tents ourselves.”

The spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the Idomeni camp views the border closures as a cause of chaos in the region and says: “These conditions will lead to a humanitarian crisis, and Greece cannot face this situation alone.”

According to Greek officials, Athens has become an open-air camp for migrants, and according to statistics released by the United Nations, more than 122,000 migrants have entered the country since the beginning of 2016. Organizations working to assist these migrants say that the continued closure of Balkan countries’ borders could turn the migrants’ situation into a human catastrophe.

A meeting on the issue of migrants is scheduled to be held on Monday, March 7, with the participation of European Union leaders in Brussels.