Draft program aims for better refugee integration

A new national plan for migration and refugee integration has been drafted in response to growing needs, according to Deputy Minister of Migration Policy Sofia Voultepsi. 

"Our priority is the social integration of refugees and migrants and social cohesion," she stressed Tuesday.

The current refugee integration program, Helios, has been deemed successful but limited in relation to existing needs. It is the only refugee integration program to have been implemented in Greece, six years after the 2015 refugee crisis.

Currently, 7,325 beneficiaries are included in the rent subsidy program, who are also obliged to attend Greek lessons and training courses.

However, during 2020, 34,325 people received asylum, while an average of 4,500 asylum applications are processed per month, of whom four in 10 are approved. This means that hundreds of new refugees each...