Greece

18 Sep 2020; MEMO: About 1,150 refugees and migrants have been moved from the streets on Greece’s island of Lesvos to a new temporary facility, an official said Thursday, Anadolu Agency reported.

The new facility will be in the Kara Tepe camp, near the island’s port, government spokesperson Stelios Petsas said Thursday.

A fire at Moria camp last week left more than 12,000 people without shelter, sanitation, food and water, to sleep in fields and nearby cemeteries.

ATHENS, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean is an issue that does not concern only Greece and Cyprus, but the European Union (EU) as a whole, European Council President Charles Michel said on Tuesday during joint statements with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis after their meeting in Athens.

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Tuesday that Europe needs to show practical solidarity with Greece on the migration issue.

“It’s time for Europe’s support to pass from words into actions, to be expressed in tangible solidarity,” Mitsotakis said after a meeting European Union Council President Charles Michel.

The Moria camp on Lesbos island which was devastated by a fire last week “belongs to the past”, Mitsotakis said, adding that a new facilty would be built to replace it, with more support and involvement from the European Union.

ATHENS, Sept 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a “robust” arms purchase programme and an overhaul of the country’s military amid tension with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.

“The time has come to reinforce the armed forces… these initiatives constitute a robust programme that will become a national shield,” the PM said in a keynote address in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

ATHENS, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Saturday a new package of economic measures aimed to alleviate society's strain from the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, reforms to keep Greece firmly on the growth trajectory, as well as fresh defense expenditure to further boost the country's deterrent ability.

12 Sep 2020; MEMO: Despairing migrants left without shelter on the island of Lesbos after a fire destroyed Greece’s biggest refugee camp faced off against police on Friday as authorities began setting up hundreds of tents to try to contain the crisis, Reuters reported.

ATHENS, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Greece's European partners are already offering assistance to the country to cope with the crisis on Lesbos island after the destruction of the Moria refugee migrant camp by a fire this week. They are preparing to agree a coherent, single migration and asylum policy to find a definitive solution to the challenge, Margaritis Schinas, European Commission Vice President, said here on Friday.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Thousands of migrants fled a camp under COVID-19 lockdown after multiple fires gutted much of the site on the Greek island of Lesbos, authorities said early Wednesday.

Some 12,500 people were living at the Moria camp and the surrounding area, where additional restrictions have been imposed over the past week after a Somali resident tested positive for the coronavirus.

ATHENS, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- Malta's Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo on Monday called for dialogue and compromise to de-escalate tension in the Eastern Mediterranean lately, during a visit to Athens.

The other option of a military confrontation in the region would be more painful, he stressed at the joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias after their meeting.

07 Sep 2020; MEMO: A member of the Greek parliament has criticised the government for allying with and placing its trust in France. Communist MP Liana Kanelli said that France is only showing support for Greece because of its own interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.

“Nobody is coming to Greece because they love us,” said Kanelli during a television talk show. “They are not dying for Greek interests.”