Greece

ATHENS, March 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The EU says it will pay €2,000 each to migrants in overcrowded camps on the Greek islands willing to go back to their home countries.

EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson announced the scheme in Athens. It was agreed with the Greek government.

She said it was temporary – open for one month only – and only for migrants who arrived before Jan 1.

She said 5,000 migrants would be eligible for the “voluntary return”.

ATHENS, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Katerina Sakellaropoulou was sworn in on Friday as the President of the Hellenic Republic. She is the first female head of state in the history of the modern Greek state.

The 63-year-old former top judge took the oath of office at the Greek parliament during a ceremony broadcast live on national broadcaster ERT.

Inside the parliament were only about 100 political leaders, MPs, high-ranking officials and other guests, instead of 1,000 attendees in such a ceremony usually.

13 Mar 2020; MEMO: Employees of Greece’s asylum agency are on strike due to “terrible” conditions in the country’s Moria refugee camp on Lesbos Island, Anadolu Agency reports.

Speaking exclusively to Anadolu Agency, Irini Zanni, one of the employees, said the Moria camp was in “terrible” condition and called for more “humane” treatment of the refugees and asylum seekers held there.

Zanni said that the refugees and asylum seekers were living under “unbelievable” dire conditions on the island.

12 Mar 2020; MEMO: The Greek authorities have been discovered to be secretly detaining refugees and migrants in a black site where they beat them, steal their belongings and deport them back to Turkey without trial.

ATHENS, March 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) –: Greece plans to build two new temporary camps to house hundreds of additional asylum seekers who arrived after a surge enabled by Turkey, the migration minister said.

“We want to build two closed centres in (the northern region of) Serres and the greater Athens area with 1,000 places,” migration minister Notis Mitarachi told Skai TV.

“We need the backing of local communities. We cannot leave all (these) people on the islands,” he said.

KASTANIES, Greece (AP) — Clashes between Greek riot police and migrants attempting to cross the border from Turkey erupted anew Friday as European Union foreign ministers criticized Turkey for using migrants’ desperation “for political purposes.”

Greek riot police used tear gas and a water cannon in the morning to drive back people trying to cross its land border with Turkey. Turkish police fired volleys of tear gas back toward Greece in an ongoing standoff between Ankara and the EU over who should care for migrants and refugees.

05 Mar 2020; MEMO: Greece will transfer migrants who arrived on its territory illegally after March 1 to the northern city of Serres and plans to deport back to their own countries, Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said late on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

KASTANIES/LESBOS, Greece (Reuters) - Greece has repulsed nearly 35,000 migrants trying to cross onto its territory illegally since Turkey opened its border nearly a week ago, government sources said on Thursday, as it prepares to deport hundreds of others who made it through.

Thousands of migrants have made for Greece since Ankara said on Feb. 28 that it would let migrants cross its borders into Europe, reneging on a commitment to hold them on its territory under a 2016 deal with the European Union.

KASTANIES, Greece (AP) — Greece countered accusations from Turkey Wednesday that it was responsible for the death of a migrant, as its border authorities strove for a sixth day to keep thousands of migrants out by using tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons.

The border tensions followed last week’s decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to declare the country’s gateways to Greece open, in an apparent attempt to pressure Europe into offering Turkey more support in dealing with the fallout from the Syrian war to its south.

ATHENS, March 4 (NNN-Xinhua) — Leaders of European Union (EU) expressed their support for Greece and determination for a common European response to the refugee, migrant challenge after a visit to the Greek-Turkish land border.