Migrant children currently in Greece are "likely" to be welcomed next week in Luxembourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Friday as calls for the evacuation of insanitary camps are mounting. These are “1,600 unaccompanied minors (...). The first will probably go to Luxembourg next week , " assured Ursula von der Leyen on the German channel ZDF. "Eight countries have declared themselves ready" to take care of these children, she said.
In addition to Luxembourg, the countries that volunteer to welcome these children are Germany, France, Portugal, Finland, Lithuania, Croatia and Ireland, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson said on Thursday. "We are very, very grateful" that these countries agree to take care of them, said Ursula von der Leyen, without detailing how many children would be sent to Luxembourg at first.
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NGO calls for the evacuation of these overcrowded camps on the Aegean islands have increased in recent days in favor of the new coronavirus pandemic. Many fear the spread of the virus in these camps where none of the recommended measures such as social distancing or regular hand washing can be applied. Ursula von der Leyen also ruled that it was "a matter of time" before the Covid-19 reached these camps.
In early March, before the pandemic hit Europe completely, the German government announced that a coalition of "voluntary" countries from the European Union planned to take care of up to 1,500 migrant children stranded on these islands as a "humanitarian" support measure. These are children who, due to illness urgently need care, or unaccompanied children under the age of 14, mostly girls, said Berlin.
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But nothing had happened since then and more and more voices were raised to denounce the situation of the tens of thousands of migrants who live in appalling conditions without having the slightest element of hygiene, especially in the Moria camp on the island of Lesbos, "a health bomb", according to the Greek government.
