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New EU-Turkey Deal Refugee Deal Runs Into Problems on the Ground - NGO

© REUTERS / Alexandros AvramidisMigrants cross the railway tracks as they wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece, January 28, 2016
Migrants cross the railway tracks as they wait to cross the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni, Greece, January 28, 2016 - Sputnik International
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Dan Tyler, an advocacy officer with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said that the refugees continue to arrive to the European Union, but plans for how to receive them and how the so-called hotspots should function are not ready yet.

Refugees and migrants walk after disembarking from passenger ferry Blue Star1 at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, Greece, February 20, 2016. - Sputnik International
Pace of EU-Turkey Deal Enactment Too Fast for Greek Gov't to Respond
MOSCOW (Sputnik), Alexander Mosesov — The lack of information being provided both to refugees arriving to Europe via Greece and to services on the ground about the EU-Turkey migrants agreement is a major concern, an advocacy officer with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) on the Greek island of Chios told Sputnik on Monday.

Earlier in the day, media outlets reported that at least 875 migrants had arrived in Greece in the last 24 hours despite the EU-Turkey agreement stating that all undocumented migrants who crossed by land or sea from Turkey toward Greece would be automatically returned.

"The lack of clear information being provided to the arriving refugees, and an understanding amongst the humanitarian response actors about the new arrangements, is a major concern," Dan Tyler said.

According to Tyler, another concern is that the refugees continue to arrive but plans for how to receive them and how the so-called hotspots should function are not ready yet.

A migrant shouts slogans as he is blocking the railway track at the Greek-Macedonian border, near the village of Idomenii, Greece March 12, 2016. - Sputnik International
Over 50,000 Refugees Stuck in Greece Amid West Balkan Route Closure
Last week, Brussels and Ankara struck a deal under which all migrants who arrive illegally through the Turkish border to Greece, starting from March 20, will be returned to Turkey. In exchange, the European Union will resettle thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey.

Under the agreement, the European Union is expected to accelerate Turkey's bid to join the union and introduce a visa-free regime between Turkey and Europe, as well as granting a total of 3 billion euros (over $3.3 billion) to Turkey to help it provide for refugees on its soil. An additional 3 billion euro in assistance to Ankara may be given by 2018.

Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their home countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty. Many of them take the West Balkan route, which crosses Greece, using the county as an entry point into the bloc from which they travel onward to wealthier EU states where they intend to apply for asylum.

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