EU unveils US$759m humanitarian aid plan
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THE European Union yesterday unveiled a 700-million-euro (US$759 million) emergency aid plan for Greece and other states hit by the migrant crisis, in what would be the first time humanitarian cash has been used within the bloc.
The United Nations has warned of a looming humanitarian crisis as thousands of refugees are stuck in wintry misery at the Greece-Macedonia border as a result of Balkan border closures.
Greece is the main entry point for the 1.13 million migrants who have landed since the start of 2015 in the European Union, which has been divided and weakened by the biggest wave of refugees since World War II.
“No time can be lost in deploying all means possible to prevent humanitarian suffering within our own borders,” EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides said as he announced the aid plan.
The funds would be allocated over three years, with 300 million euros in 2016, and 200 million euros in each of the following years under the plan, which must be approved by member states and the European Parliament.
In another first, the EU would also work directly with the UN and other aid agencies in Europe.
Greece — which insists it will not become “Europe’s Lebanon” by hosting all of the migrants coming to the continent — has asked for around 480 million euros to help shelter 100,000 refugees.
The crisis is particularly acute at the Greek border crossing of Idomeni where 10,000 are camping in the open after Balkan states including Macedonia imposed tight controls.
Macedonia yesterday allowed some 170 Syrian and Iraqi refugees to cross, the first group since Monday when Macedonian police tear-gassed migrants, including children, after some tried to ram their way through the fence.
Bleak scenes saw the refugees stranded in mud-soaked fields and fighting over food distributed from the back of a van, as aid agencies warned of a lack of supplies and the threat of illness.
“We have been waiting for six days,” said Farah, a 32-year-old Syrian woman. “The food is not enough, everyone is lying to us and we are desperate.”
The UN said more than 131,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean to reach Europe so far this year, more than the total number for the first five months of 2015. Last year a total of 1 million entered Europe.
“Europe is on the cusp of a largely self-induced humanitarian crisis,” UN Refugee agency spokesman Adrian Edwards said on Tuesday.
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