Ten EU states to take in 400 minors from Moria, German minister confirms
Ten EU states to take in 400 minors from Moria, German minister confirms
Germany, France and eight other EU countries have offered refuge to 400 minors left homeless after a fire destroyed Greece's largest refugee camp
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Children sleep on the roadside for the third night after the Moria camp fire [Getty]
Ten European Union member states have agreed to take in a total of 400 unaccompanied minors left homeless after a fire laid waste to the biggest migrant camp in Greece, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Friday.
Germany and France will take in the bulk of the minors, each offering refuge to 100 to 150, Seehofer told a press conference with EU Commission's Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, who stressed that the disaster added urgency for the bloc to reform its migration policy.
"Moria is a sharp reminder to all of us for what we need to change in Europe," said Schinas, confirming that the European Commission will unveil proposals for a new pact on migration and asylum on 30 September.
Plans for the new pact had been repeatedly stalled because of disagreements over the question of distributing asylum seekers across the bloc.
Countries such as Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have refused to accept compulsory intakes of refugees, something that has been a stumbling block to reform.
But Schinas said solidarity in shouldering the responsibility of offering refuge to asylum seekers can not be limited only to the member states at the external borders of the bloc or to large players like Germany.
"We need a true solidarity in our migration policy," he stressed.
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