Athens, Greece, 30 June 2016 – Greece is hosting over 57,000 refugees caught in limbo as access to the north remains closed, forcing them to choose between registering for potential relocation through the EU refugee plan or applying for asylum in Greece. The country has already invested hundreds of millions of Euros in building camps, and is spending over €2.5 million a day to care for refugees, Greek officials told a delegation of NATO legislators on a visit to the country earlier this week.

“Greece is committed to treating these people with the dignity and respect they deserve until more long-term solutions become clear. We must all remember what these people are fleeing”, Christos Karagiannidis, member of the Greek parliament and head of the Greek delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, told his counterparts from other NATO nations.

The parliamentary delegation visited two of several dozen camps in Greece set up to help accommodate refugees stranded in the country after its northern borders to the Balkans closed this spring. Over 900,000 refugees made their way through the eastern Mediterranean route last year, raising by well over 1000 percent the number of people attempting to cross through Greece to destinations further north in the European Union. Seventy five percent of the refugees currently in Greece have fled Syria, the delegation was informed.

Some of the financial burden is being eased through emergency funds being made available by the European Union, but not nearly enough to cover the cost. To date, officials noted, out of the €500 million in assistance pledged by Brussels, Athens has received only about a half.

The 15-member parliamentary delegation from 8 NATO member states, led by Norwegian MP Sverre Myrli, visited Skopje, Thessaloniki, and Athens from 27-30 June.