150 refugees arrive in France from Greece

PARIS

A fresh group refugees arrived in France from Greece on Monday, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.

In an article for the Liberation newspaper, Cazeneuve said 148 refugees were expected, taking to 300 the number hosted under an agreement France made with other EU members last year to take in 30,000 from “frontline” EU states such as Greece and Italy.

“France is the country that has hosted so far the largest number of refugees: 148 of them arrive this Monday on French soil from Greece and will be accommodated in reception centers for asylums seekers in several French regions,” he said.

Although the minister did not make it clear in the article, it is believed he was referring to a quota system agreed by European leaders in September. The Interior Ministry was unable to confirm the context of his comment.

The refugees arrived by at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris from Athens.

Around 32,000 refugees are currently stranded in Greece as countries to the north close their borders to unlimited numbers. At the Macedonian border, more than 11,000 refugees wait in temporary shelters to cross.

Last week, President Francois Hollande assured German Chancellor Angela Merkel that France would respect a commitment to accommodate 30,000 refugees over two years.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was due to meet the 28 heads of EU governments in Brussels on Monday to discuss the refugee crisis. The EU has pledged to provide 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in aid for refugees hosted in Turkey, introduce visa liberalization for Turkish citizens and speed up Turkey’s EU accession process.

The EU expects Turkey to reduce the flow of refugees to Europe.