The Greek government has announced that it will be giving financial assistance to refugees from March this year, in place of the current meals offered to them.
The Minister for Migration Policy Yiannis Mouzalas speaking to Greek media, confirmed that financial aid will be given to all refugees residing in the mainland while those staying in camps on the islands will be excluded.
Mouzalas pointed out that the amount for each refugee family will be one euro less than the minimum guaranteed income of a Greek family, “for symbolic reasons”.
Asked about the EU-Turkey deal, he said that if it collapses, Greece will face “a very difficult situation” which is why refugees cannot be transferred from the islands.
The Minister confirmed that over 50,000 refugees and migrants have so far been registered and noted that he aims to distribute them to more centres which are currently under construction.
