Yiannis Mouzalas

Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas was prevented for a second time on Tuesday from reaching the island of Lesvos, where he hopes to inspect a migrant camp amid criticism of conditions from aid workers and European authorities.

Government officials were trying Monday to find an emergency solution that would allow them to temporarily move some 1,000 refugees out of the Moria camp on the island of Lesvos to protect them from the snow and freezing weather.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras holds a child during an event at an ice-skating rink in Thessaloniki's Helexpo Center, on Thursday. The event was organized by the ministries of Migration and Macedonia-Thrace for children staying at 12 refugee and migrant centers in the Thessaloniki region.

Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas vowed on Wednesday to improve living conditions for migrants stranded on the islands, boost policing and create detention centers.

Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas will hold a press conference on latest developments regarding the refugee crisis on Wednesday, 11 a.m., reports said.

No further information was immediately available.

Despite widespread opposition in the ranks of SYRIZA to such a prospect, Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas has called for the creation of "closed" reception centers for migrants on Aegean islands, saying they will help minimize tensions amid local communities.

Migrant and refugee children play at Skaramangas reception center near Athens during a visit there Tuesday by Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas and Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister Frances Fitzgerald. The Irish politician chatted with refugees and volunteers. [Yannis Kolesidis/ANA-MPA]

The numbers of migrants crossing from Turkey to the eastern Aegean islands are on the rise, but the percentage of those who merit international protection is on the wane, say authorities, who are looking for ways to speed up asylum procedures.

Responding to rising tensions on eastern Aegean islands due to the growing population of migrants and asylum seekers, Migration Policy Minister Yiannis Mouzalas has made a request to European authorities that individuals from countries with low asylum recognition rates be temporarily transferred to pre-removal centers on mainland Greece.

The municipal council on the Aegean island of Chios has voted against a government proposal to create a new reception center for migrants and refugees on the site of a former landfill with the aim of easing congestion at the existing Souda facility.