Greece currently has 62 refugee camps that provide accommodation for approximately 50,000 people. Most of the refugees and migrants come from Syria and, at the moment, 75 people a day arrive in Greece, fundamentally in the islands. The most difficult situation occurs in the islands, where there are altogether 16,000 people have been taken in, while their capacity is 8,000.
The refugee camps are looked after in their majority by the government, some by regional authorities, such as the one in Thermopylae in central Greece, and with the help of UNHCR and several NGOs
The European Commissioner for Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, has declared that Greece and Italy cannot be the countries on which most responsibility falls for receiving migrants, and that as from March 17, resettlement processes in other countries should be speeded up. The aim is to resettle 3,000 people a month in order to decongest Greece and the Aegean islands.
The policy for taking in and resettling refugees in different countries needs far more resources and, among other things, staff prepared for carrying out the procedures for registering the people who arrive, checking their conditions and circumstances, and helping with the asylum applications.
The common asylum policy in the EU is essential; and the signing of agreements is necessary, following a common procedure with Asian countries, and with Egypt and the Maghreb, to strengthen migratory cooperation.
