The first refugees left on Wednesday under an relocation plan, but Prime Minister warned they were a “drop in the ocean” as the number of illegal migrant entries surged to 800,000 this year.
The six Syrian and Iraqi families, who are heading to start new lives in , are the first to be relocated from under plans to share out nearly 160,000 migrants across the bloc in a scheme fiercely opposed by some members.
Tsipras, who was at airport to see the 30 refugees off, said they were making “a trip to hope”, but warned they are merely “a drop in the ocean” compared to the hundreds of thousands who have arrived on European shores this year.
“Today they have the opportunity to make a trip to hope, to a better life,” said Tsipras, who was joined at the airport by ‘s Foreign Minister .
“It’s a drop in the ocean, but we hope the drop will become a stream and then a river of humanity.”
He spoke as Fabrice Leggeri, the head of the ‘s border agency, told ‘s newspaper that migrants have made some 800,000 “illegal entries” to the bloc so far this year and warned that the influx has probably not “reached its peak”.
The need for a solution to Europe’s worst migration crisis since World War II is becoming increasingly urgent, with at least 80 migrants — many of them children — dying in the last week while trying to sail from to in rough weather.
“It’s these flights that should be routine, not shipwrecks,” ‘s deputy immigration minister Ioannis Mouzalas said as the refugees flew out from .
On Tuesday four more migrants, including two children, drowned after their boat got into difficulty off the Greek island of .
– ‘ is the gateway’ –
“The human sacrifice that shames European civilisation must stop,” said Tsipras, whose country saw more than 200,000 people land on its beaches in October alone, according to the refugee agency .
Tsipras said the registration and relocation process for refugees must begin in , insisting: ” is not the gateway; is the gateway.”
Ankara’s cooperation is seen as key to ending the crisis, and on Tuesday president urged the government to work closely with after the ruling Justice and Development () party swept back to power in elections at the weekend.
The last month announced a refugee cooperation deal with including a possible three billion euros ($3.3 billion) in aid.
Two first groups of Eritreans and Syrians left under the relocation scheme last month, bound for and , although some countries such as the , , and still oppose the mandatory quotas.
A Greek asylum service official said the group leaving on Wednesday, chosen because they are considered vulnerable, were made up of two Iraqi and four Syrian families, with a total of 16 children. One of the women is pregnant and two of the children are disabled.
On arrival in the families will spend two days in a registration centre and then two or three months in temporary accommodation. The welfare service will then help them to find permanent place to live, schools and jobs.
Several European countries have closed their borders in the midst of the migrant crisis, and on Tuesday became the latest country to tout plans to tighten its asylum rules.
Lawmakers have put forward a bill, due to go before parliament in December, that would mean anyone granted asylum would be reassessed after three years and sent back if their country of origin is deemed safe.
Chancellor said the controversial legislation is a “signal that asylum is something which is temporary” and is aimed at deterring people from coming to .
Rights groups criticised the proposals, saying they would make it harder for migrants to integrate into Austrian society, and the refugee agency said tightening rules on relatives “could keep families apart for many years, if not for ever.”