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IOM: EU resettled 30% of agreed quota

September 27, 2017 at 4:58 pm

Image of migrants arriving in Greece on 9 September 2015 [Freedom House/Flickr]

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said yesterday that the European Union has resettled only 30,000 asylum seekers out of 100,000 it was due to accept.

In a statement, the organisation called on EU countries to complete the resettlement of the remaining asylum seekers by the end of this year.

The statement explained that the resettlement scheme is part of an agreement reached with the European Union two years ago, to resettle 106,000 asylum seekers who came to the EU through Greece and Italy.

UN Migration Agency Director General, William Lacy Swing praised the plan and its contribution to easing pressure on the EU front-line countries and helping thousands of stranded asylum seekers.

The official urged the EU and its Member States to continue the relocation programme in an uninterrupted and improved form, adding that the IOM “will continue to implement pre-departure health assessment, orientation and travel assistance”.

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According to the statement, the countries receiving the largest numbers of asylum seekers so far are Germany, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland.

Non-EU member states, Malta, Norway and Liechtenstein have also been committed to the resettlement plan.

“Hungary and Poland have not participated despite their legal obligation, while Austria and the Czech Republic have received less than one per cent of their quota,” the statement added.