To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to ensure that a proportion of their aid for refugees, together with that of the EU and other international partner donors, goes to Middle Eastern and other refugees now in Greece, and in particular on the Aegean Islands; and if so, what proportion of that aid they intend to provide to those refugees.
Answered on
21 December 2017
In response to the refugee crisis in Greece, the UK has provided 500,000 relief items such as tents, blankets and clothes, and delivered more than 1.4 million meals to vulnerable migrants and refugees. In addition to this support to Greece (totalling £39 million), the UK has pledged £2.46 billion in aid to Syria and the surrounding region, reducing the need for people to take perilous journeys to Europe.
Since early 2016, substantial EU funding, including a significant UK contribution, has been made available for refugees in Greece. At the same time, there has been a considerable reduction in the number of people arriving. Whilst the UK continues to deploy expert staff to ease overcrowding on the islands, our bilateral humanitarian work has come to an end. We are now focussing our efforts on the Central Mediterranean, where large numbers of refugees and migrants are still making the risky journeys.