The Diplomat
The European Commission has selected two Spanish projects in the call for aid for asylum and migration, with a total allocation of 25.5 million euros, which will be used to strengthen the migrant reception system and alleviate the overload of reception capacity in Ceuta and the Canary Islands, which is the result of the increase in migratory pressure.
Specifically, the EU executive has granted 9.77 million euros to a project in Ceuta to strengthen the capacity and resilience of the reception, asylum and return system in the autonomous city.
The other project selected, located in the Canary Islands, has received 14.77 million euros, which will be used to support the reception, asylum and return systems for third-country nationals arriving on the coasts of the islands, with a focus on people in a situation of vulnerability.
The EU executive has earmarked a total of 171 million euros for reception, asylum and return projects in Spain, Cyprus, Greece, Italy and Poland, within the framework of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.
In the case of Cyprus, this aid will go towards the construction of accommodation and pre-departure centres in the Menoyia and Larnaka areas.
In Italy, on the other hand, it will strengthen reception capacity, from arrival to all stages of reception, to protect and care for the most vulnerable refugee children and women.
In Greece, financial support is aimed at improving the quality of protection assistance to asylum seekers in the reception system. In particular, it will focus on the individualised management of persons in vulnerable situations as well as the provision of educational support to school-age refugee children in the country.
The Polish project, finally, will focus on strengthening an approach to protect the rights of direct assistance provision and improving return procedures.
