Chios

Protest groups on three eastern Greek islands have begun setting up blockades aimed at stopping the government from building new migrant detention centers.

The groups on Lesvos, Chios and Samos have received broad support on the islands including from municipal authorities and farming associations.

Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias on Thursday announced a legislative initiative to facilitate the immediate hiring of medical staff at the hospitals on the eastern Aegean islands that bear the brunt of migration influx.
Speaking on Alpha TV, Kikilias said that the hospitals needed to be supported because they were originally designed to serve the needs of the local population.

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.

Greek administrative officials and residents of the five Greek Aegean islands accommodating refugees and migrants have staged a protest in Athens against plans to build new camps.

Dozens of protesters from the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos Leros and Kos gathered in front of the interior ministry, carrying placards against projects for new refugee camps.

Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas said the owners of the land that will be expropriated by the state to make way for the creation of closed centres for asylum seekers on the islands will be paid rent for three years.

Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis on Tuesday said that a meeting scheduled later this week with the mayors of the northern and eastern Aegean islands that are slated to acquire closed pre-deportation migrant centers has been cancelled amid reactions from local authorities.

The long-awaited creation of closed centers for asylum seekers on five northeastern Aegean islands was announced on Monday by government spokesman Stelios Petsas, who stressed that a legislative act will be issued to allow for the acquisition of properties, land and sites by expropriation.

Northern Aegean Regional Governor Kostas Moutzouris said he was "surprised" by the Greek government's sudden announcement on Monday that it is speeding up the creation of new, closed migrant centers on the islands.

The government is expected to move forward with its plans to build new, more secure, reception facilities for migrants on the Aegean islands in the coming days, with announcements on construction expected imminently even as local authorities continue to oppose the projects.

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) urged Greece on Feb. 7 to increase efforts to address "alarming" overcrowding and precarious conditions for asylum seekers and migrants staying on the five Aegean islands of Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros.