European Commission awards 3.5M euro emergency funding to Greece for reception facilities for migrants and refugees
The European Commission said on March 4 2016 that it has awarded 3.5 million euro in emergency funding to Greece.
The funding will help cover the running costs for human resources in the First Reception Centres that will be set up on the Greek islands of Kos, Lesvos, Samos, Chios and Leros, the EC said.
The money comes from the Internal Security Fund (ISF) and should strengthen Greece’s capacity to effectively manage the unprecedented migratory flows into the country by ensuring an adequate functioning of the identification, registration and reception of third country nationals, the Commission said.
The emergency funding will be used to significantly increase the number of specialised staff, which should help to reduce the duration of registration procedures, the EC said.
