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Greece + 15 more

Operations Cell (Updated May 6, 2016 3:24 PM)

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Daily Report

Arrivals and Departures

According to the latest fact sheet issued by the European Commission regarding the implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement, since its entry into force, 386 people were returned from the Greek islands to Turkey and 135 Syrian refugees were resettled from Turkey to Europe. Additionally, as stated through the EC communication, the Turkish government has committed to allow access to EU representatives to refugee camps and centres in Turkey. A programme for visits is currently being prepared by the EU Delegation in Ankara.

Condition of People

Around 4,500 asylum applications were lodged in Austria in April 2016 according to the Austrian Ministry of Interior.

This constitutes a slight increase compared to March (3.265) but a decrease compared to January (5,950) and February (5,110). Between 18-24 April, 1,562 people lodged asylum applications in Hungary.

Last week, temporary border controls at the Hungarian-Austrian border were introduced. The Ministry of Interior also presented details for future border controls and a border management system at the Austrian-Italian crossing where refugees and migrants would be channelled through.

A total of 1,694 third-country nationals were deported or returned to their countries of origin from Greece in April, under operational planning to combat irregular migration, Greek Police announced on Thursday.

The greatest number of returns were to Albania (852), Pakistan (157), Morocco (107), Iran (61), Georgia (51), Afghanistan (45) and Bangladesh (29).

A total of 6,427 third-country nationals have been returned to their country of origin since the beginning of the year, Greek Police said.

According to media sources, during a meeting on migration issues held in Thessaloniki on 5 May, the Greek Alternate Minister for Migration Policy, Yannis Mouzalas, estimated that 30,000-40,000 refugees will remain in Greece for a lengthy period of time. He added that the site in Eidomeni, at the border crossing with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, will be evacuated by 30 May.

On 4 May, the European Commission proposed to allow those EU Member States currently carrying out internal border controls related to migration, namely Germany, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and the associated country Norway, to continue doing so for a period of up to six months to adequately address the persistent risk of secondary movements of irregular migrants coming from the Greece.