“Thousands of people slept on the street for weeks in Belgium, the Netherlands”

EU Commissioner: Thousands of migrants slept on the streets

EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs Ylva Johansson said that this summer hundreds of people in Belgium and the Netherlands had to spend the night on the street for weeks and a baby died.

In the General Assembly of the European Parliament, a session was held on “Providing humane treatment for immigrants in Europe and at the borders”.

Speaking at the session, EU Commissioner responsible for internal affairs Johansson said, “When I started my duty, 42 thousand people lived in the Greek islands under terrible conditions. Now there are only 2 thousand people left in much better conditions.” said.

Johansson said that EU countries accepted 37,000 Afghans last summer, that the Lukashenko administration in Belarus “using immigrants as a political tool” was prevented by diplomatic traffic with third states, and that the EU gates were opened to millions of Ukrainians because of the war.

However, stating that the reception centers of the EU countries are full and there are crises, Johansson said, “Hundreds of people in Belgium and the Netherlands slept on the streets for days and weeks this summer. A baby died.” he said.

Johansson stated that the EU will support these two countries with shelters and capacity increase, and described the signing of a roadmap on the new immigration and asylum package between the EP and the Council as an important development.

“We have less than two years to reach an agreement. Let’s get to work.” Using his statements, Johansson drew attention to the necessity of making the reception centers and education services suitable for Ukrainians due to the approach of winter.