Maritsa

Amid the steady rise in migrant and refugee arrivals in Greece via the Evros land border and the eastern Aegean islands, Migration Policy Minister Dimitris Vitsas has warned of difficult days ahead.

"There is an increase in the flows and we are fully aware of this," he told Parliament on Tuesday, admitting that "the ministry will have a tough time in the coming period."

A Syrian refugee is handed her baby aboard an old military truck used by the police for their transfer to the Nea Vyssa reception facility, near the northeastern town of Orestiada, after crossing the Evros River on Greece's border with Turkey, in this photo made available Monday.

Europe's border and coast guard forces are prepared to help Greece manage a recent spike in migrant and refugee arrivals by land and sea, European Commission spokesperson Natasha Bertaud said on Friday.

Political developments in Turkey, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's large-scale crackdown against opponents in the wake of the 2016 failed coup, and the humanitarian impact of war in Syria, are intensifying migration pressure on Greece, with authorities reporting a spike in arrivals on the Aegean islands but also across Greece's northwestern border with Turkey.

Greek authorities say hundreds of refugees and other migrants have crossed the land border with Turkey in the past two days, with illegal crossings in the area increasing significantly following Turkey's military operation in northern Syria.

The International Packaging and Paper Production Group Mondigroup intends to invest over EUR 600 million in the construction of a new plant in Bulgaria. This was made clear by a meeting of Deputy Economy Minister Lachezar Borisov and Executive Director of Bulgarian Investment Agency (BIA) Stamen Yanev with Technical Director of Mondi Christian Skilich, reports money.bg. 

Migrants wait outside police headquarters in the northern Greek port of Thessaloniki on Friday. Several hundred migrants gathered outside the building waiting to be formally identified and transferred to reception centers. Most are believed to have entered the country via the Turkish land border.

More than 1,650 migrants crossed Greece's Evros river that marks the country's northeastern border with Turkey in March, despite the high water levels during winter, data from police arrests showed on Friday.

Turkey adopted a tougher stance on the management of minor incidents on its border with Greece in the same month that authorities there arrested two Greek soldiers for accidentally crossing the border during a patrol.

At least 180 undocumented migrants were held in northwestern Edirne province on Monday, according to a gendarmerie source, cited by Anadolu Agency.