Evropski komisar za migracije, notranje zadeve in državljanstvo Dimitris Avramopoulos se je danes mudil na grškem otoku Lezbos, kjer je obiskal več begunskih taborišč in se z lokalnimi oblastmi pogovarjal o humanitarnih razmerah.

Objavljamo izjavo v celoti (v angleščini).

»I am in Lesvos today to pass a very important message: that we all, Greeks, Europeans, have a humanitarian imperative to alleviate the situation here on the islands, for the migrants as well as for the inhabitants of these islands.
Greece has already shown its humanity in dealing with the refugee crisis, a crisis that no EU Member State is able or should be left to cope with alone.
We cannot give up now. The European humanitarian tradition must be maintained.
So it simply cannot be that refugees are left out in the cold, to brave the worst of winter without a roof over their heads. Solutions must be found today, not tomorrow, not next week, but now.
The European Union will continue to stand by Greece’s side in providing those solutions, just as we have been doing till now. With over €1 billion in financial support made available for Greece in the past two years, Greece is the biggest recipient of EU home affairs funding. And we are ready to provide more aid where needed.
A lot of that financial support has gone to our international partners working within Greece and I would today call on those same partners to redouble their efforts to bring immediate aid to those in need here in the islands. This is not about politics. This is about responding operationally and pragmatically to a humanitarian imperative.
I also call on all other EU Member States to continue stepping up the number of people they relocate from Greece and offer safe haven in their own countries. The EU-Turkey statement is what allowed us put a stop to the tragic loss of life at sea, but managing the biggest refugee crisis Europe has ever seen, remains a collective European responsibility.
The reality is that solutions will only work in cooperation and with the assistance of the local authorities and the local populations here in the islands.
It is to the local authorities and inhabitants of the islands that I want to send a message of gratitude for dealing with the immediate impact of the refugee crisis.
I am confident that space will be found for the winterised UNHCR tents, financed by the European Union, to be set up as a temporary, humanitarian action.
This will not be forever. We will continue to stand side by side with you in working to decongest the islands, transferring the vulnerable people to the mainland, returning people who do not have a right to asylum and speeding up the processing of claims to return those people back to Turkey that can receive protection there.
But in the meantime, we all have a moral duty to respond, urgently, to the humanitarian situation.
I know I can count on you. You will always be able to count on us.
We all recognise the problems and difficulties on the islands. Every supporting measure that the government is discussing with the local authorities is welcomed and I am happy that discussions are taking place with the government on this.”