European migrant crisis

The process of moving thousands of migrants out of state facilities and subsidized accommodation across the country is to begin on Monday though authorities have not determined which facilities will be affected first nor how long the process will take. 

The Turkish Coast Guard rescued 60 asylum seekers on May 29 in the Aegean Sea.   

Acting on a tip, rescue teams reached asylum seekers who were on a rubber boat that was forced into Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard.

Turkey has successfully passed the "migration" test by hosting millions of refugees on its soils for years, while even the most developed nations have failed in doing so, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has said at an online opening of the International Migration Films Festival.

Turkish Coast Guard teams rescued at least 72 asylum seekers on May 25 from four boats in the Aegean Sea. 

Acting on a tip-off, the rescue team reached out to the asylum seekers, who were on board inflatable boats that were forced into Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard.

Greece has a right to extend a fence at the border with Turkey in the northeastern region of Evros to avoid a repeat of the tensions last March when thousands of migrants attempted to scale the fence and enter into EU soil.

Two boats carrying a total of 67 migrants and refugees landed on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos late Thursday.

Most of the passengers were from Afghanistan and African countries, while 16 were from Syria.

Authorities said all the migrants would be kept in quarantine for the next 14 days as part of measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The Greek police have been bringing in asylum seekers living in the country and expelling them to Turkey by force while using the coronavirus pandemic as a cover for their abuses, according to a report published on May 20. 

Authorities are concerned over a possible spike in migrant inflows after a third boat arrived on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos since the beginning of May on Sunday, with 36 people on board from Afghanistan and African countries.

The migrants were transferred to a makeshift structure in Megala Therma for 14 days of quarantine.

Rights activists working with migrants and refugees said they were unclear why the Serbian army had deployed in Sid, a border town hosting three migrant and refugees camps, as the situation was calm and no incidents had been reported.

Greece's Asylum Service will start receiving new asylum applications as of May 18, the Migration Ministry announced on Friday, after having stopped for two and a half months.

To maintain social distancing, half of the staff will work from home.