Giorgos Koumoutsakos

Germany plans to take in up to 50 unaccompanied minors staying at overcrowded refugee camps in Greece, while Luxembourg has agreed to accept 12, government officials said Tuesday.

Luxembourg has agreed to relocate twelve unaccompanied refugee children from Greece by next week, Alternate Migration and Asylum Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos said on Tuesday, after a phone call with the country's Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn.

EU-backed repatriations program aim to ease pressure on islands Migration Policy Minister Notis Mitarakis and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson on Thursday jointly announced the establishment of a European Union-backed program for the repatriation of 5,000 migrants from Greece to their home countries.

Migration Policy Minister Notis Mitarakis and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson on Thursday jointly announced the establishment of a European Union-backed program for the repatriation of 5,000 migrants from Greece. 

European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas on Wednesday weighed in on a row between the Greek government and local authorities over plans to build pre-deportation centers on the five Aegean islands that are on the frontline of the migration/refugee crisis, calling for a greater "sense of responsibility and consensus."

Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarakis and Alternate Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos are set to meet with German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer in Berlin on Thursday.
Talks are expected to focus on the EU's new migration and asylum pact which will be presented in the spring.

The Greek government is determined to proceed with a decision to construct closed type hosting facilities for refugees and migrants, Alternate Migration Minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos said in an interview with Praktoreio FM on Wednesday adding that plan will be to the benefit of local residents.

Alternate Minister for Migration Policy Giorgos Koumoutsakos and the executive director of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Nina Gregori, on Tuesday signed an agreement paving the way for the agency to acquire a branch in Greece as part of its efforts to bolster support for the country as it struggles to manage rising numbers of refugees and migrants.

Amid mounting concerns about growing numbers of irregular migrants arriving on the Aegean islands from the Turkish coast, Alternate Minister for Migration Giorgos Koumoutsakos told Parliament on Friday that Greece faces "a new period that could bring a possible resurgence of the migration and refugee problem." 

Turkey's state-run news agency says top Turkish and Greek ministers have met to discuss migration policies amid a spike in migrant arrivals in Greece over the summer.

Anadolu Agency said Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu met with Giorgos Koumoutsakos, Greece's migration minister, on Thursday in Ankara.