Greece
Greece
Thousands of Asylum Seekers Moved to New Camp on Greece's Lesvos Island
Police on the Greek island of Lesvos are moving thousands of migrants and refugees from the fire-gutted Moria camp to a new tent city nearby.
Seventy female officers in protective suits were flown in to organize the transfer of women...
Greece
Greece Takes Over Management of Asylum Facilities from NGOs
The Greek government announced on Wednesday it is taking over twenty-eight facilities hosting asylum applicants on the Greek mainland from non-governmental organizations.
Minister of Migration Notis Mitarakis said that the facilities will now become legal entities of their own and...
Greece
Greece Defends Temporary Halt of Asylum Requests
The Greek government late on Monday defended its decision to stop processing asylum requests for one month after thousands of migrants converged at the border seeking to enter the EU from Turkey, saying it was in response to “emergency...
Greece
Greece Suspends Acceptance of New Asylum Applications
Among the extraordinary measures Greece announced on Sunday evening, was the suspension of all asylum application procedures for those who enter the country illegally from now until April 1.
This decision came after the third day of clashes in Evros,...
Greece
Greece Now Issues Asylum Decisions in Twenty-Four Days
Greece's Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis said on Friday that the country can now issue a decision on asylum applications in 24 days, a period considerably faster than what was the case in the past.
Speaking with SKAI television, Mitarakis noted...
Greece
Asylum Seekers to Get Social Security Number in Greece in Apparent Policy U-Turn
Five key Greek ministries on Monday decided that the country will re-introduce the practice of granting a social security number to all migrants who have applied for asylum in Greece, something that the current conservative government had stopped doing...
Greece
EU Asylum Office Doubles Staff and Increases Funding for Greece
The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) recently decided to double the number of its personnel in Greece and significantly increase its funding to assist the country in its efforts to speed up procedures for granting or rejecting political asylum.
Currently...
Greece
Greece Transfers 500 Asylum Seekers From the Islands to Mainland
The transportation of 500 individuals from the Aegean islands to accommodation facilities for asylum seekers throughout Greece was underway on Tuesday.
The transfer began on Monday, when 270 individuals departed from Lesvos on a regular ferry, while another 230 are...
Greece
Two Asylum Seekers Commit Suicide in Northern Greece
Two asylum seekers in their 30s who were living in a hotel packed with refugees in northern Greece hanged themselves over Christmas, a charity said on Thursday.
The bodies of the two men, an Afghan father of two aged 32...
Greece
Greek Parliament Approves Stricter Asylum Law
Greek MPs in the early hours of Friday approved a government bill aimed at easing pressure on the Aegean islands by speeding up asylum procedures and returns of migrants to Turkey, despite warnings by rights organizations describing it as...
Greece
Human Rights Watch Blasts Greece's Proposed Asylum Legislation
The international group Human Rights Watch on Tuesday sharply criticized the new asylum bill brought forward by Greece's new conservative government as it restricts legal protection only to individuals who are fleeing wars.
“The bill is a naked attempt to...
Greece
New Asylum Bill Reaches Greek Parliament Amid Heavy Criticism
The new bill laying out the procedures by which refugees and migrants are either granted asylum status or are deported came before the Greek Parliament late Monday night.
The aim of the new bill is to significantly reduce the time...
Greece
Greece Receives the Most Child Asylum Requests in the EU in Relation to Population
According to the findings of a recent study titled ''Data on Children in Migration'' conducted by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, Greece is the EU member state with the highest number of child asylum requests...
Greece
Greece Tightens Health Care Provisions for Migrants, Asylum Seekers
The Greek government is planning to tighten up procedures for providing free health care and other benefits to thousands of migrants and asylum seekers.
According to a circular issued this week to all state agencies by the Labor Ministry, the...
Greece
Asylum Seekers Taken from Athens Squats to be Moved to Migrant Camps
Greek authorities announced on Tuesday that a total of 134 asylum seekers who were evicted from squats in Exarchia in downtown Athens will be moved to state reception facilities in the next several days.
The 134 migrants – chiefly consisting...