Arrivals and Departures
On 13 May, 1,034 people arrived to Italy following several search and rescue operations. They were disembarked in Augusta (344), Catania (286), Crotone (231) and Palermo (173). Despite the Coast Guard’s initial communication regarding the nationality of arrivals, following disembarkation, UNHCR did not observe large groups of people originating from Syria. Boats disembarked from Egypt carried people mainly from Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, and Comoros Islands. Boats departed from Libya carried mainly people originating from various Sub Sahara countries. As compared with the number of daily arrivals in the same period in 2014 and 2015, despite high media attention of this particular incident, the number of arrivals on 13 May does not represent an unusual trend.
On the same day, based on observations covering April 2016, a FRONTEX press release indicated that, so far, there had been no signs of a significant shift from the Eastern Mediterranean route to the Central Mediterranean one. Furthermore, FRONTEX noted that the number of people detected on the Central Mediterranean route in April 2016 represented a 13% decrease compared to March 2016 and close to a 50% decrease compared to April 2015.
Condition of People
In a Parliament address on 13 May, the Alternate Minister of Migration Policy, Yannis Mouzalas, announced that the government will evacuate Piraeus port by mid-June, transferring refugees and migrants to more dignified facilities.
As reported in the media, the Greek Ministry of Education will launch a pilot education scheme for children at facilities for refugees over the summer, to prepare them for starting formal schooling in September. The Ministry aims to teach refugee children in their own languages, English and some basic Greek from September. The teaching will take place in classrooms which will be constructed within the refugee sites. Teachers who may be chosen from the refugee community will also be included in the education programme, which is financially supported by the European Union.
In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, since the closure of the border on 8 March, the Director of the Interior Ministry of Strategic Affairs Department, Nataliya Spirova, announced that a total of 11,803 people were intercepted and returned to Greece for irregular entry.
Key Developments
Through a joint press release from UNHCR, EASO, and the Greek Asylum Service, it was announced that running from the end of May to the end of July, the Asylum Service will conduct a pre-registration exercise of asylum-seekers on mainland Greece who arrived prior to 20 March; they will be supported by UNHCR and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), with the European Commission (DG Home) providing financial support.
On 13 May, the Austrian Minister of the Interior announced that for the time being, border controls will not be introduced at the Austrian-Italian Brennero crossing. He said that currently numbers of asylumseekers and migrants have dropped significantly and linked this to tightened controls on trains taking place in Italy prior to reaching Austria through Brennero.