Refugee crisis:
Hundreds arrive in Greece despite the beginning of a new EU pact designed to send migrants back to Turkey.
ATHENS — Hundreds of mostly Syrian asylumseekers continued to arrive in Greece by sea Sunday despite the start of an international agreement to send migrants back to Turkey.
While the deal between the European Union and Turkey is officially in effect, the process for deporting migrants has yet to be worked out. Greek and Turkish officials are set to hold discussions Monday. And Greece is still awaiting the arrival of 2,300 European experts, including translators, to help carry out the agreement.
In the meantime, the EU said any new arrivals in Greece from now on will be subject to possible deportation.
At least 875 new refugees — mostly Syrians, along with Iraqis and Afghans — landed on four of Greece’s Aegean islands close to the Turkish coast between Saturday evening and daybreak Sunday. Two Syrian men were found dead of undetermined causes aboard a boat arriving on the island of Lesbos, and two girls were found drowned east of Rhodes, officials said.
The EU- Turkey plan, agreed to on Friday, aims to halt smuggling by sending migrants who do not qualify for asylum back to Turkey. As part of the deal, European nations will then accept refugees directly from Turkey, starting April 4. The hope is to discourage asylum- seekers from trying to make the dangerous trip across the Aegean Sea on their own in flimsy boats.
Turkey is also required to step up efforts to crack down on illegal migration. The deal puts Ankara on the fast track to get $ 6.6 billion in aid to deal with refugees on its territory. It could also lead to unprecedented visa concessions for Turks to visit Europe and a re- energizing of the country’s EU membership bid.
Turkey, which is already hosting 2.7 million refugees from war- torn Syria, has been a primary departure point for Europe, while Greece has borne the brunt of arrivals. More than 1 million migrants have arrived in Europe over the past year.
On the Greek border town of Idomeni, where about 10,000 migrants who were refused entry into Macedonia are stranded, the mayor criticized what he said are plans to make the sprawling, muddy, makeshift encampment permanent. The government “asked us to bring sleeping cars through Hellenic Railways, approximately seven or eight cars to accommodate refugees. That’s not the solution. I think the ( camp) should be evacuated,” said Christos Goudenoudis, mayor of Peonia.