This morning, 139 people arrived at the airport in Hanover, including 17 children in need of medical care and their immediate families (making up a group of 88 persons) and 51 unaccompanied minors. This brings the number of refugees flown from Greece to Germany to 609 so far this year, including 104 unaccompanied minors and 142 children in need of medical treatment.

The new arrivals have come to Germany under two separate aid efforts.

Firstly, following agreement within the Federal Government, Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer decided to admit 243 children needing medical care and their immediate families from refugee camps in Greece. The action was decided in the Coalition Agreement of 8 March 2020 and is part of a European aid effort to be completed in the coming weeks. Eleven EU member states are taking part in this aid effort (Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Croatia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia) as well as Norway and Serbia.

Secondly, following a fire which destroyed the refugee camp Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos, the Federal Government decided to take in some of the 400 unaccompanied minors whom the Greek government had moved to mainland Greece. Germany will accept up to 150 of these unaccompanied minors.

Furthermore, the Federal Government decided to take families from the Greek islands whom the Greek government has already found to be in need of protection. These families, totalling 1,553 persons, are to come to Germany soon.

They are being relocated to eight federal states (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Lower-Saxony, Hesse, Hamburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein), based on a plan developed by the Federal Government together with the governments of all 16 federal states. This plan takes into account criteria such as family ties and specific medical needs.