Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Yiannis Mouzalas and German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière held a meeting in Berlin, according to a German Interior ministry press release on Tuesday.
The ministry said Mr. Mouzalas presented the current situation in Greece regarding stranded refugees and migrants, also saying that the number of asylum applications and appeals are expected to increase significantly. “The appeal committees will start work next week, under a new composition. This will increase the number of final rulings” he said.
According to the ministry’s statement Mr. Mouzalas also thanked the German government for the assistance offered to Greece.
Meanwhile, Greek authorities struggle to accommodate refugees and migrants. A government official indicated Tuesday that a plan to evacuate a makeshift camp for migrants at the old Athens international airport in Elliniko by the end of July might be “wishful thinking” as an alternative venue has yet to be found.
Conditions at the site, where some 4.000 migrants live in tents, are degenerating due to rising temperatures, according to Elliniko Mayor Yiannis Konstantatos.
On Lesvos, which bore the brunt of a migrant influx for months, 35 people arrived Tuesday from Turkey. Arrivals have drastically fallen since March, when the European Union signed a deal with Ankara to return migrants to Turkey.
But hoteliers say tourism has been hit hard by the migrant crisis and are asking for tax breaks and aid. Charter flights to the island were down by 65% in May.