After Moria: EU announces changes in asylum policy
Germany is expected to take in 100 to 150 unaccompanied minors,after a fire left thousands homeless at the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island Lesbos, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced on Friday in Berlin.
In addition to Germany, France and eight other EU countries have declared their willingness to receive a total of 400 unaccompanied minors, with France also taking in between 100 to 150 people.
The Netherlands also on Thursday declared its willingness to take in 100 unaccompanied minors. However, talks are still underway with other countries, Seehofer told a joint press conference with the EU Commission’s Vice President Margaritas Schinas. Countries such as Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia have refused to accept compulsory intakes of refugees. Schinas said that the Moria camp disaster added urgency for the bloc to reform migration policy.
The European Commission will unveil proposals for a new pact on migration and asylum on September 30. EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson told DW that she is optimistic that all EU member states will back the pact.