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European Union Plans Aid Package to Help Trapped Migrants European Union Plans Emergency Aid to Help Trapped Refugees
(about 2 hours later)
BRUSSELS — The European Union has paid for humanitarian missions in Iraq, South Sudan and Syria in the past decade. On Wednesday, for the first time, it agreed on an emergency aid package to alleviate large-scale suffering inside its borders. BRUSSELS — For the first time in its history, the European Union on Wednesday announced plans for an emergency aid package to alleviate large-scale suffering inside its borders, where tens of thousands of migrants are trapped in Greece as they seek asylum in northern Europe.
The spending proposal — 700 million euros, or about $760 million, which the bloc’s member governments have yet to approve — is intended to help tens of thousands of migrants trapped in Greece and, if needed, in other countries on the front lines of the migration crisis, such as Bulgaria and Italy. The proposal was announced by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, and it requires the approval of a majority of governments. “The crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation,” Adrian Edwards, a spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency said in a statement this week. “Tensions have been building, fueling violence and playing into the hands of people smugglers.”
Thousands of people continue to reach Greece every day, most of them via Turkey, only to find themselves blocked from traveling on to countries like Germany and Sweden, where most of them want to claim asylum. About 9,000 asylum seekers are stuck along the Greek-Macedonian border, according to monitoring groups. Migrants who have made it to Athens are crowded into camps and refugee centers that are either full or nearly so.
Their onward journeys have been halted by countries like Macedonia, which has imposed tougher border controls and where violence has erupted in recent days as armed police officers confront the migrants who are seeking to cross the country on the way to richer nations in the north. The spending proposal — 700 million euros, or about $760 million, which the bloc’s member governments have yet to approve — is intended to help those migrants trapped in Greece and, if needed, in other countries on the front lines of the migration crisis, such as Bulgaria and Italy.
About 9,000 migrants have thronged along the Greek-Macedonian border, according to monitoring groups, and camps and refugee housing in Athens are full — or nearly so. Thousands of people continue to reach Greece every day, most of them via Turkey, only to be blocked from traveling on to countries like Germany and Sweden, where many intend to claim asylum.
With the weather turning warmer and the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece becoming more navigable, the number of migrants making the trip is expected to rise in coming weeks, putting even more pressure on Greece, which could become a giant holding center for migrants who cannot go forward because of the new border restrictions, but who will not or cannot go back. The migrants have been halted by countries like Macedonia, which has imposed tougher border controls and where violence has erupted in recent days as armed police officers confront those seeking to cross through the country.
With the weather turning warmer and the sea crossing from Turkey to Greece becoming more navigable, the number of migrants making the trip is expected to rise in coming weeks. This may put even more pressure on Greece, which could become a giant holding center for migrants who cannot go forward, but who will not, or cannot, go back.
Greece risks becoming a “new Lebanon for Europe, a warehouse of souls,” Ioannis Mouzalas, a Greek minister for immigration policy, warned last week at a meeting in Brussels of the European Union’s interior ministers.Greece risks becoming a “new Lebanon for Europe, a warehouse of souls,” Ioannis Mouzalas, a Greek minister for immigration policy, warned last week at a meeting in Brussels of the European Union’s interior ministers.
Normally, the bloc reserves humanitarian aid from its budget to spend on things like tents and food in poorer parts of the world that are struck by natural disasters or conflicts. Yet the number of migrants reaching Greece has forced Europe to adapt its aid policies to try to avert a catastrophe on the Continent. The aid proposal was announced Wednesday by the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, and it requires the approval of a majority of governments.
Normally, the bloc reserves humanitarian aid from its budget to spend on things like tents and food in poorer parts of the world that are struck by natural disasters or conflicts. It has paid for humanitarian aid missions in Iraq, South Sudan and Syria in the past decade. Yet the number of migrants reaching Greece has forced Europe to adapt its aid policies to try to avert a catastrophe on the Continent.
The number of migrants arriving in Greece in January was about 68,000, or 38 times higher than a year earlier, according to Frontex, the bloc’s border control agency.The number of migrants arriving in Greece in January was about 68,000, or 38 times higher than a year earlier, according to Frontex, the bloc’s border control agency.
Approximately 108,000 migrants arrived on the Greek islands in the first two months of the year, Frontex said.Approximately 108,000 migrants arrived on the Greek islands in the first two months of the year, Frontex said.
“No time can be lost in deploying all means possible to prevent humanitarian suffering within our own borders,” Christos Stylianides, the European commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said in a statement before a news conference on Wednesday. The “proposal will make €700 million available to provide help where it is most needed,” he said.“No time can be lost in deploying all means possible to prevent humanitarian suffering within our own borders,” Christos Stylianides, the European commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis management, said in a statement before a news conference on Wednesday. The “proposal will make €700 million available to provide help where it is most needed,” he said.
The so-called Emergency Assistance Instrument would allow for a faster, more targeted response to major crises, including helping member states cope with large numbers of refugees, according to the commission.The so-called Emergency Assistance Instrument would allow for a faster, more targeted response to major crises, including helping member states cope with large numbers of refugees, according to the commission.
The money, to be disbursed over the next three years, would go to organizations such as United Nations agencies and aid groups, the commission said. The program would be structured so that existing humanitarian aid programs outside the bloc would not lose funding, it said.The money, to be disbursed over the next three years, would go to organizations such as United Nations agencies and aid groups, the commission said. The program would be structured so that existing humanitarian aid programs outside the bloc would not lose funding, it said.
At least initially, a majority of the funding is expected to go to help the situation in Greece, and the move highlights the uncertain future for that country, where a debt crisis that began six years ago threatened to sink the euro, the European Union’s flagship economic project.At least initially, a majority of the funding is expected to go to help the situation in Greece, and the move highlights the uncertain future for that country, where a debt crisis that began six years ago threatened to sink the euro, the European Union’s flagship economic project.
Like the crisis over migration, the euro crisis became a battle over how to keep the Continent unified in the face of severe challenges in nations such as Greece and Cyprus on the bloc’s periphery. Yet the migration crisis has rapidly developed into an even more severe test of the unity of the European Union.Like the crisis over migration, the euro crisis became a battle over how to keep the Continent unified in the face of severe challenges in nations such as Greece and Cyprus on the bloc’s periphery. Yet the migration crisis has rapidly developed into an even more severe test of the unity of the European Union.
The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who helped steer the bloc through the euro crisis, is under acute political pressure at home to abandon her policy of relieving the pressure on Greece by welcoming migrants to Germany.
Other European Union members, like the Czech Republic and Hungary, have balked at plans to relocate migrants from Greece inside their borders, while Austria and Belgium are among those in the Schengen area, a region of largely passport-free travel, to have reimposed border controls.
The crisis also has a geopolitical dimension that has led to stark warnings about the potential consequences for the European Union if the war in Syria, where Russia is supporting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, cannot be tamped down.The crisis also has a geopolitical dimension that has led to stark warnings about the potential consequences for the European Union if the war in Syria, where Russia is supporting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, cannot be tamped down.
On Tuesday, the top NATO commander in Europe, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove of the United States Air Force, warned lawmakers that Russia and the Assad government were “deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve.”On Tuesday, the top NATO commander in Europe, Gen. Philip M. Breedlove of the United States Air Force, warned lawmakers that Russia and the Assad government were “deliberately weaponizing migration in an attempt to overwhelm European structures and break European resolve.”
General Breedlove, addressing the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, was taking advantage of the crisis to infiltrate the migrants “like a cancer,” and to threaten Europe and the United States.General Breedlove, addressing the Senate Armed Services Committee, suggested that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, was taking advantage of the crisis to infiltrate the migrants “like a cancer,” and to threaten Europe and the United States.