Greece sets up 4 out of 5 proposed migrant registration centers

PanARMENIAN.Net - Greece said on Tuesday, February 16 it had set up four out of five proposed registration centers for refugees, drafting in the army to help, after criticism from its European Union peers it was not doing enough to stem Europe's chaotic influx of migrants, Reuters reports.

Last week, EU ministers gave Greece three months to fulfill 50 recommendations to fix its borders. If it does not, the EU members of the free-travel Schengen zone can impose checks on internal frontiers for up to two years.

The Greek government drafted in the army last month to ensure the five registration centers and two relocation camps on the mainland were completed on time.

The registration centers are set up on the "hotspot" islands of Samos, Lesbos, Chios, Kos and Leros near the Turkish coast, where migrants leaving Turkey tend to arrive. All but the center on Kos is now ready, and that one will be ready in five days, after opposition from island residents.

Two disused military camps on the mainland will operate as relocation centers, each with a capacity to house up to 4,000 people.

"It was a rather difficult operation," Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, leader of the co-ruling Independent Greeks party, told journalists.