Migrant Arrivals in Greece Drop After EU-Turkey Deal

No migrants have arrived in Greece over the past 24 hours - for first time since EU-Turkey deal on migration entered into force, Kathimerini news daily reported on Thursday.

The latest government figures suggest a marked decrease in refugee flows into Greece over the previous few days as well, the Greek newspaper said in its English-language online edition.

The Greek authorities have attributed the drop in new arrivals mainly to unfavourable weather conditions. Just 260 migrants have entered Greece on Tuesday, two days after the EU-Turkey deal took effect.

This compared to several thousand migrants crossing daily into Greece several weeks ago. Almost 860,000 entered Greece on their way to Western Europe last year.

All new arrivals in Greece must be returned to Turkey starting in early April under the deal that aims to discourage refugees and migrants to make the perlilous journey across the Mediterranean to the Greek islands.

The agreement  provides for the return of all irregular migrants from Greece to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if their application is rejected. For every Syrian refugee returned to Turkey, a Syrian already in Turkey must be resettled in the EU.