99 refugees relocated from Greece to Germany, Finland by EU

Over the past few days, 99 vulnerable asylum applicants have been relocated to Finland and Germany, as part of the European Union’s ongoing support to frontline Member States, the EU’s asylum coordination agency said yesterday.

According to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), the first relocation of 83 people belonging to families with seriously ill children from Greece to Germany took place on 24 July.

Greece has been frequently criticised for its questionable practices and policies toward migrants. The Greek government last month also suspended access to asylum for 30 days for people irregularly entering the country, Daily Sabah reported.

READ: Europe appears to be powerless to tackle the migrant issue

Last June, the European Union proposed a plan to provide financial support for Turkey to deal with the refugees in the country, as part of an amendment of its 2020 budget towards the crisis.

This was part of the 2016 refugee deal between Turkey and the EU, which stipulated that Turkey must prevent refugees from entering Europe in exchange for financial aid and assistance. The initial sum that was agreed upon was €6 billion ($6.5 billion) due to be paid in full by this year, but the EU failed to fulfill its part of the agreement, prompting Turkey to open up its border with Europe earlier this year and allowing refugees to continue their journey to Europe.

The remainder of the full amount is now expected to be paid by 2025, with an additional €485 million ($571.7 million) in funding.