Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis urges greater EU involvement on migration after Moria fire

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called upon the EU nations to shoulder a greater responsibility in handling the Moria migrants on Sunday, September 13. This came after the Greek authorities promised that 12,000 migrants who were left homeless after the devastating fire at Moria camps would be moved to a new tent city.

According to reports, the Mitsotakis blamed some residents of the camp for trying to blackmail the Greek government by 'deliberately' setting the fires. However, he said that the European Union can take this as an opportunity to improve its handling of the migrant crisis.

Read: Moria Migrants: Greece Sends Three Ships To Help Shelter 13,000 Refugees After Fire

New permanent refugee camp

At a press conference, Mitsotakis said, “It (the burning of Moria) was a tragedy. These images were bad. It was a warning bell to all to become sensitized. Europe cannot afford a second failure on the migration issue”.

The Greek Prime Minister added that he has been in touch with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel over the reallocation of at least some migrants from Moria. However, he added that there will be a new permanent refugee camp on Lesbos.

Greece's Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis is reported to have said that a total of 1,000 Moria residents will be relocated to the new tent city. He added that those who are entering the new camp will have to go through rapid testing for the novel coronavirus and also mentioned that 5 new cases have been reported so far.

Read: Locals In Lesbos Oppose Moria Camp Reconstruction

Moria fire

According to reports, the blaze has left about 3,500 living in and around the Lesbos island camp homeless. The European Union has over the years made various attempts to resettle these migrants that have poured in from different countries. However, very few people were transferred from the Moria camps of Greece.

Moria migrant camp was set up back in 2015-16 and was constituted to handle the massive wave of migration into Europe. The camp is currently occupied by people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and was originally designed to house 2,750 people.

Read: Greece: Fire Sweeps Through Refugee Camp On Virus Lockdown

Also Read: Moria Migrant Camp Fire Fuels Local Anger As Greek Authorities Struggle To Help Refugees

(Image Credits: AP/Unsplash)