Greece Hotspots to Deal with Refugee Influx

Kos (archive photo). Photo source: newsbeast.gr

Five screening centers will be set up on Greek islands in efforts to manage the registration procedure for an ever-growing number of refugees entering the country, the government announced earlier this week.

Despite local criticism that the creation of hotspots will in effect draw even more refugees to the already struggling islands, the Greek government enacted emergency legislation, which it said will facilitate the registration.

The decision came days after reports of a possible Schengen zone suspension, which prompted the government to seek EU assistance and border controls, with emergency supplies expected to arrive this week.

Serving as a first stop to Europe, Greece has borne the brunt of fleeing refugees from Syria through Turkey, seeing more than 700,000 migrants go through its borders this year.

The government has also called for the deployment of additional EU border control officers on its northern frontiers with FYROM.

In the meantime, UK media are reporting that the country’s prime minister, David Cameron, is considering dropping out of the EU due to the migration and refugee crisis.

“I think with both the eurozone crisis and the migration crisis, the short term impact is for people to think, ‘oh Christ, push Europe away from me, it’s bringing me problems’,” he told Spectator magazine in an interview.