The process of relocating unaccompanied children and adolescents from the Greek islands to European countries will accelerate.
Eight unaccompanied migrant children were transferred from the Greek islands to Ireland on Wednesday. The relocation took place as part of a bilateral program between the two countries.
Furthermore, the transfer of about 1,600 children and young people will take place this month, with the next transfer (of 25 minors) taking place on June 27 to Portugal.
However, it will take several months to ensure that Member States can accept young people in the most appropriate way.
Since April, two relocation operations have taken place, one in Germany with 47 children and one in Luxembourg with 12.
"As travel restrictions begin to relax, we are now preparing the main phase of the program coordinated by the Commission," a European Union spokesperson said.
"We would like to express our gratitude to the eleven participating member states plus Norway, and we continue to strongly encourage all our Member States to show solidarity," he said.
In addition to Germany and Portugal ,9 more countries will host minors: Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Croatia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Slovenia and Finland.
On Wednesday, a total of 27 immigrants, nine men, nine women and nine children, mostly Africans, arrived on Lesvos.
The immigrants underwent medical tests by a National Health Organisation team and were sent to Kara Tepe camp and will be placed in a seven-days quarantine, or 14 days if they test positive to coronavirus.
This was the fifth boat with illegal immigrants that arrived in Lesvos in June.
The total number of arrivals in June has increased to 185.
It it worth mentioning that no arrivals have been recorded on the other islands of the northern Aegean since March 2020.
