The grand coalition agreed to accept refugee children who were particularly vulnerable. Around 1,000 to 1,500 minors are affected.
- The grand coalition wants to bring around 1,000 to 1,500 particularly vulnerable refugee children from the Greek islands to Germany .
- The Federal Government agreed to do so after a seven-hour meeting on Monday night.
- You can also read all current developments on the federal government's handling of the refugee crisis in our news ticker.
Berlin - The grand coalition in Germany wants to take in particularly vulnerable children from the overcrowded Greek refugee camps in the future. As part of a European solution , these minors are to be accommodated in the Federal Republic . This was announced by Union and SPD on the night of Monday after discussions in the Berlin Chancellery.
GroKo has reacted to the escalation of the refugee crisis in Greece
With this decision, the grand coalition is responding to the recent escalation of the refugee crisis in Greece. Since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the borders to refugees heading for the EU at the end of February following the escalation of the military conflict in the northern Syrian province of Idlib , the influx of migrants to Greece has increased significantly. The EU is therefore afraid of another refugee crisis, as last seen in 2015 *.
The coalition has now announced that it wants to help find a solution for around 1,000 to 1,500 refugee children who are in a “difficult humanitarian situation”. According to a statement by the government partners, these are minors in the camps on the Aegean Islands who are either unaccompanied and younger than 14 years old or in urgent need of treatment because of a serious illness . Most of them are girls.
Refugee children from Greece admitted through “coalition of the willing”
As the leaders of the CDU, CSU and SPD also explained, "a few days ago" a solution was being negotiated at European level to organize the takeovers of these children in a "coalition of the willing" . In this context, Germany is ready to "take over an appropriate share". The Coalition Committee also assured Greece of its “support and solidarity” in protecting the EU's external border - as well as in the accommodation and care of the refugees arriving in Greece. Since Turkey opened the border, thousands of people have tried to reach Greece. The Greek security forces then used tear gas against the refugees , among other things.
But catastrophic humanitarian conditions in refugee camps * have not only been a problem since the end of February. Refugee workers have been complaining about inhumane conditions in the camps on the Greek islands for several months. Recently, more than 1,700 people arrived on Lesbos and four other Aegean islands, according to Greek information. Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) now wants to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Berlin. The refugee crisis is likely to be the main topic at the meeting. The current developments in Syria, Turkey and Greece will also have major consequences for Germany *.
Read also how a security expert assesses the situation in Syria *.
AFP, cia
* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.