The European Commission has announced plans to scale up its flagship Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation project, which supports refugees in Greece.
The Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation project helps refugees, by moving them out of camps and into more secure urban accommodation, or by providing them with regular cash payments to aid their integration into society.
Additional funding for the project, along with other aid projects throughout Greece, was announced yesterday at a meeting between European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Christos Stylianides, and Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, in Athens, Greece.
How is the EU supporting refugees in Greece?
Overall, the European Commission has made available more than €1.5bn in funding, to support migrants and help to manage the humanitarian situation in Greece. The Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation project was launched in 2017 in collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency.
Already, the project has created more than 23,000 places for urban accommodation for refugees, and also established a cash assistance scheme which has served to benefit more than 41,000 refugees and asylum seekers.
In addition to its Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation project, the European Commission has also signed contracts with the Danish Refugee Council, the Spanish Red Cross, Médecins du Monde and others.
These projects will provide shelter, primary health care, psycho-social support, improved hygiene and education for refugees as part of the European Commission’s wider efforts in Greece.
What has the commission said about the commitment?
Stylianides welcomed the allocation of additional funding to this project, saying that it represented a “clear and loud signal of European solidarity” with Greece, and with other member states which were overwhelmed during the migrant crisis which began in 2015.
He explained: “We continue to deliver on our strong commitment to help refugees in Greece live more secure, normal and dignified lives, and facilitate their integration into the local economy and society… I pay special tribute to the Greek citizens and mayors who have welcomed refugees in their municipalities with great empathy and care.”
