Published : 18-10-2018
Germany resumed the family reunification program on Monday after it was halted last year. The plan will eventually reunite migrant families across Germany.
Nearly 200 refugees who were trying to reunite with their families in Germany left Greece on Monday, restarting a reunification program that stalled last year.
"The departure of the first 177 refugees is part of an administrative arrangement between Greece and Germany for the completion of family reunifications already approved by Germany," the Greek Migration Ministry told AFP.
The refugees, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, took a charter plane to Munich, according to the ministry.
The ministry added that there would be more upcoming flights, as some 2,000 refugees are expected to rejoin their families in Germany with the program, a ministry source told AFP.
The reunification program was slowed down in 2017 for refugees with subsidiary protection in Germany before stopping altogether.
According to the Dublin Regulation, the European country that an asylum seeker is first processed in will handle their case.
The Commission on Human Rights in the European Parliament criticized Germany's policy on the reunification of refugee families, and that the German authorities impede reunification of refugee families.
Sometime earlier, the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights leveled heavy criticism at Germany over its closed-door policy regarding the reunification of refugee families.
Germany resumed the family reunification program on Monday after it was halted last year. The plan will eventually reunite migrant families across Germany.
Nearly 200 refugees who were trying to reunite with their families in Germany left Greece on Monday, restarting a reunification program that stalled last year.
"The departure of the first 177 refugees is part of an administrative arrangement between Greece and Germany for the completion of family reunifications already approved by Germany," the Greek Migration Ministry told AFP.
The refugees, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, took a charter plane to Munich, according to the ministry.
The ministry added that there would be more upcoming flights, as some 2,000 refugees are expected to rejoin their families in Germany with the program, a ministry source told AFP.
The reunification program was slowed down in 2017 for refugees with subsidiary protection in Germany before stopping altogether.
According to the Dublin Regulation, the European country that an asylum seeker is first processed in will handle their case.
The Commission on Human Rights in the European Parliament criticized Germany's policy on the reunification of refugee families, and that the German authorities impede reunification of refugee families.
Sometime earlier, the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights leveled heavy criticism at Germany over its closed-door policy regarding the reunification of refugee families.
