05/14/2013 17:39 GMT

ATHENS, May 14, 2013 (AFP) - The European Union on Tuesday called on Greece to review its asylum policies, especially for Syrians fleeing "atrocities" in their country.

European Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmstroem told a news conference after talks with Greek leaders that the number of people gaining asylum in Greece "continues to be very low, and I am particularly worried about this situation, especially about the Syrians.

"Every day we hear atrocities about their country," she added.

In a case highlighting the risks people take when fleeing conflict in their countries to seek refuge in Europe, the authorities of Lesvos continue their search for the bodies of asylum-seekers who had attempted to reach the Greek island.

Since last Friday, they have found the bodies of six Syrian nationals including a 17-year-old pregnant woman and a mother with her young children. They are now searching for the bodies of three more Syrian nationals whose families had reported missing to the island authorities after the nine attempted to cross from Turkey on 6 March 2013.

By Deepa Babington and Lefteris Papadimas

ATHENS, March 10 (Reuters) - Syrian shopkeeper Osama fled the fighting in Aleppo convinced he would be welcomed in Europe. Five months later, he is stuck in near-bankrupt Greece, where money and sympathy are scarce.

Read the full report on AlertNet.

Parliamentary Assembly

1. The Parliamentary Assembly believes that firm and urgent measures are needed to tackle the mounting pressure and tension over asylum and irregular migration into Greece, Turkey and other Mediterranean countries.

With no end in sight to egregious violence and human rights abuse in Syria, Amnesty International, Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME), European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) and the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) are calling on EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers to act now to help refugees fleeing Syria.

Refugees from Syria in neighbouring countries

Greece is seriously failing to respect the rights of asylum-seekers and migrants, Amnesty International warned in a briefing published today.

Every year, tens of thousands of irregular migrants and asylum-seekers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa cross the Greek land and sea border with Turkey in search of shelter, refuge or just a better life within the European Union (EU). Few of them find it in Greece.

12/16/2012 14:59 GMT

ATHENS, Dec 16, 2012 (AFP) - The death toll in the sinking of a makeshift boat carrying migrants off a Greek island near the Turkish coast rose to 21 Sunday after another body was found on a beach, police said.

Six people are still missing, a press officer with the Lesbos island police told AFP.

The latest victim, a man, was found on the island's Thermi beach like all others before him.

Police continued to search for those missing on Sunday.

EEA Grants, a funding mechanism supported by European Economic Area (EEA) members Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, has signed an agreement with IOM that will provide EUR 4 million to support NGOs in Greece that run reception centres for vulnerable migrants and asylum seekers, especially unaccompanied minors.

ATHENS / GENEVA (3 December 2012) – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, François Crépeau, stressed today that the plight of the growing number of irregular migrants trapped in Greece on their way to other European Union destinations requires a EU-wide approach focused on human rights. He also urged the Greek Government to step up its efforts to ensure that the rights of all migrants within its territory are fully respected.