Estonia to accept 150 refugees from Mediterranean area in Phase 1

Photo: Kristjan Teedema / Tartu Postimees

European Union interior ministers in their emergency meeting in Brussels on Monday endorsed a decision of the European Council aimed at helping 60,000 refugees and concluded an interim agreement under which Estonia will accept 150 refugees of the Mediterranean crisis in the first stage.

Estonia's Interior Minister Hanno Pevkur said that while the discussion that took place in Brussels was very tense and emotional, the outcome represented substantial progress in solving the crisis in the Mediterranean, spokespeople for the Interior Ministry said.

«By the evening the member states were ready to relocate and resettle altogether almost 55,000 people, of which the Estonian share is 150 people over the course of two years. At the same time, the goal of helping 60,000 refugees set by EU heads of government was not met and the discussion will continue at the end of the year.»

Pevkur said that considering the number of refugees that still need to be divided among the member states -- approximately 5,000 -- it can be estimated that Estonia must accept additionally from 20 to 30 people.

In order to help Greece cope with the increasing number of people seeking international protection, the Commission published a proposal on May 27 to use the emergency response mechanism under Article 78(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This provision, which is being activated for the first time, will be used to set up an emergency relocation scheme to assist Italy and Greece.

At a meeting of the European Council on June 25˗26 the voluntary participation of member states in the program aimed at relocating 40,000 applicants for international protection from Greece and Italy and resettling 20,000 people from UN refugee camps situated in third countries was decided upon.