LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) – European border restrictions imposed due to coronavirus will affect plans to transfer hundreds of children out of “dire and dangerous” refugee camps in Greece, a senior official for the United Nations children’s fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
“The temporary shutdown of cross-border movement within the EU will inevitably impact when and how vulnerable children in Greece are relocated to Germany, Finland and other states,” Afshan Khan, Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant response in Europe, wrote in an email.
She urged countries to explore “all possible measures to expedite the transfer of these children, so they can begin moving as soon as the borders reopen”.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Gareth Jones)
