Norway nearly halfway through the refugee quota

RefugeesRefugees.Photo: pixabay.com

Norway has promised to accept 1,500 asylum seekers from Greece and Italy. Soon, half will arrive.

At the end of February, Norway received 664 asylum seekers through the so-called relocation arrangement – 249 were from Greece and 415 from Italy. The numbers are from  recent overview from the European Commission.

Norway is well placed to fill their quota. Immigration has estimated that the goal can be reached in during the first six months.

EU as a whole is far worse in the effort, which is intended to relieve Greece and Italy, the two main arrival countries for immigrants who goes over to Europe.

In February, there was a  new record in  relocation of 1,940 asylum seekers. But it is far from enough to reach the goal, which is that 98,255 asylum seekers will be forwarded from Greece and Italy by September this year.

– Member States have no excuse, says EU immigration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos.

– It is possible to relocate all by September. It is solely dependent on political will and perseverance in the member countries, he said.

So far, other European countries only received 13,546 asylum seekers.

Three countries – Poland, Hungary and Austria – have not yet received a single applicant. Denmark and the United Kingdom have chosen to stand outside the arrangement.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today