EC asks Romania to accelerate refugee intake

The European Commission (EC) has mentioned Romania among the countries that should accelerate the refugee intake, according to the mandatory quotas decided in September 2015, reports local Agerpres. The EC also mentioned that Romania is getting ready to take refugees from Turkey, according to the agreement between the EU and Turkey. EU’s Justice and Home Affairs Council decided in September 2015 the relocation of 160,000 refugees from camps in Greece and Italy to other EU member states based on mandatory quotas. Romania’s quota is 4,180 refugees. So far, little over 18,400 refugees have been relocated, 568 of whom reached Romania. In its latest report, the EC mentioned Spain, Belgium, and Croatia among the countries that need to accelerate the refugee intake from Italy and Greece, while Romania, Germany, and Slovakia should take more refugees from Greece, and France should take more from Italy. Austria, Hungary, and Poland haven’t taken any refugees through the mandatory quota reallocation mechanism. Hungary and Poland have opposed the mandatory quotas and risk infringement procedures. The EU has also agreed to take a number of refugees from Turkey so that the country would stop the refugee flow towards Europe. EU countries have committed to taking little over 25,000 refugees from Turkey, and Romania should also receive the first refugees based on this mechanism. editor@romania-insider.com