EU

The new temporary camp on the Greek island of Lesbos is even worse than the original Moria camp, with inadequate shelter, hardly any running water, limited healthcare services, and no access to legal aid, said the Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) and Oxfam in their latest ‘Lesbos Bulletin’ news update.

The weak EU tax haven blacklist is undermining attempts to stop government bailouts going to corporate tax dodgers, said Oxfam, ahead of the publication of a revised EU blacklist tomorrow, 6 October.

The new Commission proposals on migration and asylum will likely replicate the abhorrent situation we have been witnessing for years in the Greek EU refugee ‘hotspots’, said Oxfam today.

The European Commission should trigger an infringement procedure against Greece for its systematic breach of EU law in its treatment of people seeking asylum in Europe, a coalition of human rights groups said in a legal complaint filed today, just a day before the Commission will release a new European pact on asylum and migration.

The fire in the infamous Moria refugee camp was a fully preventable tragedy and should trigger a U-turn in the EU’s and Greece’ response to the arrival of people seeking asylum in Europe, said Oxfam and the Greek Council for Refugees.

The first case of the new coronavirus in Greece’s biggest refugee camp highlights the need for immediate and radical changes from the Greek government and its EU partners to the reception of people seeking asylum in Europe.

The recovery fund and long-term EU budget agreed today do not match the urgency of our current situation and the challenges ahead, said Oxfam.

EU policies and action have facilitated the containment of tens of thousands of people in Libya, a country where they have been exposed to appalling abuse, say 13 organisations in support of a complaint to the EU Court of Auditors.

The only way to avoid the pandemic devastating lives and livelihoods at an untold scale is for rich countries to mobilise all available resources, said Oxfam in response to a new European Commission plan outlining how the EU will support developing countries in the face of COVID-19.

Rather than protecting vulnerable people from the spread of the coronavirus, the Greek government is using the crisis to absolve itself from its obligations under international and EU law, said Oxfam.