European Union to send nearly £100m in aid cash to improve conditions in migrant camps
THE EUROPEAN UNION will more than DOUBLE emergency aid cash for Greece to improve living conditions for migrants on the country’s shores and immigration camps.
On Saturday the EU Commission announced its intention to send €115 million (£97.4m) in emergency support.
The aid money will be paid on top of €83million given earlier this year.
Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides announced the cash will be given to humanitarian organisations operating in the country.
Earlier this year EU officials said the Mediterranean route was slowing down and less migrants were arriving.
A deal between Turkey and the EU was supposed to seal the route, but the so called one-for-one agreement appears to be failing.
Greece was supposed to send back migrants arriving from Turkey, and for everyone returned, a migrants out of a camp in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s nation would be resettled in the EU.
But in recent weeks thousands of migrants have been arriving weekly
Last week more than 6,500 migrants were rescued from the Mediterranean in 24 hours while 460 arrived on the Greek Islands on the same day.
The cash boost brings total funding under the Emergency Support Instrument to €198 million.
Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management said: “The European Commission continues to put solidarity into action to better manage the refugee crisis, in close cooperation with the Greek Government.
"The new funding has the key aim to improve conditions for refugees in Greece, and make a difference ahead of the upcoming winter."
He added: “Over the past months, we have significantly contributed to restore dignified living conditions through our humanitarian partners.
“Together, we will continue our work until we reach our target.”