Berlin (dpa) – German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has voiced regret at the lack of solidarity shown by other European Union countries in taking in minors stranded in Greek refugee camps.
“Apart from Luxembourg, we are the only country that is at all willing to take in children,” Maas told broadcaster RTL/ntv-Redaktion on Wednesday.
“But we do not want to wait longer for others to act and are starting now,” he added, expressing the hope that other EU members would follow.
The German government has agreed to take in between 350 and 500 unaccompanied minors over the coming weeks. The first group of 50 are to arrive next week and will be held in quarantine in the state of Lower Saxony for two weeks to eliminate the risk of infection from the novel coronavirus.
They will then be distributed across the country.
Germany is to arrange a charter flight in cooperation with Luxembourg, which has agreed to take in 12 unaccompanied minors.
Aid workers describe conditions in the crowded camps on Greek island in the Aegean as dire and have said that at outbreak of the virus under conditions of poor hygiene would be catastrophic.
The German government agreed in March to take in some of the up to 1,500 unaccompanied minors, in association with its EU partners.
The focus is on those refugees that are seriously ill or unaccompanied and younger than 14.
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