Dimitris Avramopoulos

Refugee relocations from Greece to other European Union states have still not picked up, with just 8,766 transfers since the deal went into effect in September 2015 against a target of 60,000 by end-2017, a European Commission announcement said on Wednesday.

European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos said in an exclusive interview with the Greek quarterly English-language review Business File that the European Union's Asylum Agency will be fully operational in the near future.

Former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has argued EU Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos "personally informed" him about EUR 6.1 M worth of new funding to tackle the migrant crisis.

The sum has been allocated to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Borisov has reported on Facebook.

BRUSSELS - Serbian Minister of Labour, Employment and Social and Veteran Affairs Aleksandar Vulin urged the EU on Thursday to step up financial aid to Serbia for migrants in its territory and provide assistance in border control.

Aleksandar Vulin has asked the EU to increase financial assistance to Serbia intended for the care of migrants, but also help in controlling borders.

The head of the Serbian Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs made this statement on Thursday in Brussels, where he met with EU Commissioner for Migration and Home Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos.

As authorities scramble to improve accommodation for thousands of migrants on Aegean islands amid forecasts of a new cold snap, a spokesperson for the United Nations refugee agency said Greek authorities have ignored proposals on how to ameliorate living conditions.

The European Union's top migration official is urging EU countries to agree on a way to fairly distribute the load of migrant arrivals, as the bloc's plan to share refugees languishes.

Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Thursday that member states must finally define the notion of "solidarity," as Greece and Italy struggle to deal with tens of thousands of migrants.

As Greek authorities struggle to host more than 60,000 migrants stranded in the country, the European Commission on Wednesday proposed the prolongation of border controls in the passport-free Schengen area for another three months as the bloc is still working on steps to deal with the migrant crisis.

European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos has told the mayors of five eastern Aegean islands that have borne the brunt of the migration crisis that their demand for the decongestion of overcrowded reception centers will be achieved through further cooperation with Turkey as part of the deal signed with Brussels to stem flows into Europe.

European Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos is to meet in Athens Thursday with the mayors of the five eastern Aegean islands that are hosting migrants, with the talks expected to focus on ways of decongesting overcrowded reception facilities and speeding up the processing of asylum claims.