06 February 2017•Update: 07 February 2017
By Idyli Tsakiri
ATHENS, Greece
The European Commission has announced an additional 3.9 million euros in emergency funding to Greece to handle the refugee crisis, the Commission said Monday.
According to a press release issued by the EC, the aid should be allocated towards the improvement of "reception conditions for migrants on the Greek islands."
"This is to further support EU financed actions carried out by the Ministry of Defence to provide catering, accommodation and transportation to the migrants on the islands, also in support of emergency accommodation solutions, such as temporary accommodation in ships."
The emergency funding comes after the death of three refugees in Moria camp, Lesbos, late January, possibly due to measures they had taken to protect themselves from cold weather conditions.
Official government numbers show that the Eastern Aegean islands currently accommodate almost 15,000 refugees and migrants, while their total capacity is a little over 8,300 people.
According to data provided by the European Commission, Greece has received more than one billion euros since 2015, "to support the country with migration and border management".
Specifically, the commission's Home Affairs Funds provided 356.8 million euros to Greece since 2015, while another 509 million euros have been allocated under the national programs for 2014-2020, the press release stated.
Local representatives of the European Commission in Greece were not immediately available to comment.
