Schulz in Lesbos: "People are really running for their lives"

European Parliament President Martin Schulz i visited Athens for the first relocation of refugees from Greece to Luxemburg, on Wednesday. Thursday he travelled to the Greek island of Lesbos, to visit the refugee registration and identification centre, where almost 2.500 persons are being registered every day. "It's urgent to reinforce efforts to complete hotspots but to be effective they need relocation by all Member States", said Martin Schulz, during his visit to Moria hotspot.

"I witnessed the work done by the government, and intense commitment by organisations and NGOs to deal with refugees and migrants", said Martin Schulz after visiting, with the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras i, the 1st hotspot in Moria, on Lesbos, a Greek Island in the Aegean sea that has become an important entry point for refugees due to its close proximity to Turkey.

Wednesday, President Schulz, Greek Prime Minister Tsipras, Migration Commissioner Avramopoulos i and the Foreign Affairs Minister of Luxemburg, Asselborn, witnessed the first relocation of refugees from Greece to Luxembourg, at Athens airport. "The refugee crisis is first of all a crisis of the refugees; people who are really running for their lives", said Mr. Schulz and noticed that it was but a first step. He added that all member states must make their reception capacity known to the relocation scheme.

REF. : 20151105STO01436