The European Commission has not met the target it set two months ago for the relocation of 20,000 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy by mid-May. Instead, only 553 refugees — just 3 percent — have been transported from Greece and 6,321 people have been relocated from the same period last year, far from the agreement to move 160,000 refugees.
EU Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos confirmed that the situation is not satisfactory, noting that 46,000 refugees have been left stranded in Greece since the closure of the Balkan route to Germany.
A number of EU member states have withstood calls by the European Commission to accept refugees whereas most of the other countries have shown little enthusiasm for the relocation plan as it is not acceptable by their voters.
More relocation efforts are necessary bearing in mind the humanitarian situation in Greece and increased arrivals to Italy, notes an EU report on the refugee crisis.
Until now, 6,321 refugees have relocated to 16 countries since July 20, 2015. These reception countries are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
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