Daily Report
Arrivals and Departures
According to a statement released by the Greek Ministry of Citizen’s Protection, four Syrian nationals were returned to Turkey from the Greek island of Chios. They are a family composed of two parents and two children. They were returned, at their request, by air from the state airport of Chios “Omiros” to the airport “Adana Sakir Pasa” in Turkey. Additionally, the Minister added that 390 people of various nationalities were returned to Turkey under the EU-Turkey agreement and 1,048 people of various nationalities were returned to Turkey on the basis of the Greek-Turkish Bilateral Protocol.
According to the Turkish Coast Guard, the number of people attempting to irregularly cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece has dropped significantly in April. 400 people were intercepted on the Aegean in the first half of May, compared to 800 in the first half of April, representing a 50% decrease. The number of interceptions in April had already fallen by 80% in comparison to those of March. Of the 24,500 refugees intercepted so far this year, 5,506 took place in January, 8,747 in February, 8,530 in March, and 1,717 in April. Also according to Turkish Coast Guard figures, no casualties occurred in Turkish waters this April.
Condition of People
Police, refugees, and migrants clashed in the informal site at Eidomeni, located near the border crossing between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Police officials resorted to using tear gas to disperse a group of about 200 refugees and migrants who attempted to use a train wagon as a barricade. The clashes broke out during a police operation to vacate the railway line which has been occupied by people for the past two months. UNHCR teams present observed the incident as initially peaceful followed by escalation and report that two police staff were injured. Approximately 11,000 people remain at the site.
Key Developments
On 18 May, the European Commission released its third progress report on the EU’s emergency relocation and resettlement schemes. It highlights that progress on relocation since the second progress report has been unsatisfactory: so far only 1,500 persons have been relocated (909 from Greece and 591 from Italy), far from the Commission’s target of 20,000 relocations by mid-May. Efforts were mostly made by a few EU Member States only. The Commission however notes that the framework for future relocations had been strengthened. Conclusions from the report; the Commission calls on Member States to support Italy and Greece, increase the number of pledges, reduce response time to relocation requests, and enhance the relocation of unaccompanied minors.
The Commission also calls on Greece to fully invest in the pre-registration exercise, which UNHCR is supporting, and to ensure that all relocation centres foreseen are open and fully operational.
The Commission also requests Italy to increase the reception capacity of hotspots and establish specific procedures for the relocation of unaccompanied minors.
On the subject of resettlement, 6,321 people have so far been resettled out of the agreed 22,504 under the July scheme. Persons whom have already been resettled were mainly from Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. In addition, 177 persons have been resettled from Turkey to the EU following the EU-Turkey Statement of 18 March 2016.