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Another 100,000 spaces
in refugee welcome centers will be created under a contract decided by European
leaders at an emergency summit in Brussels.
The
heads of 11 EU states and 3 non-EU countries met to discuss how to handle
growing number of migrants.
More
than 9,000 migrants arrived in Greece every day last week, the highest
rate so far this year.
Under
the deal, Greece will open welcome centers with enough room for 30,000 migrants
by the end of the year.
The
UN's migrant body, the UNHCR, will provide another 20,000 spaces in the same
time.
It
will also add reception centers with another 50,000 spaces in Balkan countries,
which are the most popular routes north for migrants looking to travel north to
Germany and Scandinavia.
Also as
part of the contract, leaders also agreed to:
· "Discourage" the movement of migrants to neighboring countries' borders "without informing neighboring countries"
· Assign contact officers who can submit information on migrant numbers to other countries and authorities
"This
is one of the record litmus tests that Europe has ever faced," said German
Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Greece
migrant arrivals 47,985
People
reached Greek islands between 17 and 21 October
- · 50,000 new places to be created in Greek welcome centers by January
- · 50,000 more spaces to be created in neighboring countries
- · 60,000 people reached Slovenia in past 10 days
European Commission, IOM
Smaller
countries along the Balkan route say their income is extended by the number of
people arriving.
Bottlenecks
have also been exacerbated in part by Hungary closing its boundaries with
Serbia and Croatia, forcing migrants to seek option routes north.
Their
journeys have been aided by governments who have helped them move to camps or
on to the next border.
Before
the talks, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic dismissed requests to stop
moving migrants on.
"That
is not possible, whoever wrote this does not understand how things work and
must have just woken up from a months-long sleep," he said.
"Waving
them through has to be stopped and that is what is going to happen," European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said after the summit.
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Main migrant route to Germany |
Mr.
Milanovic and Slovenian President Borut Pahor had said Sunday's meeting would
be a success only if they agreed to stricter restrictions on migrants
travelling from Turkey to Greece.