Brussels, 8 September 2015
Yesterday, Austria received €5 million under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), following a request made at the end of July, to increase the reception capacity for a total of 1.270 newly arrived asylum seekers, as well as to increase the administrative capacity to deal with increased asylum claims. Commissioner Avramopoulos was in Vienna and Traiskirchen yesterday, where he said:
The refugee crisis is not somewhere far away. It is happening right in front of us. It’s knocking on the door of one EU Member State after the other. No Member State in the EU can address this issue alone. We can only overcome this crisis if we act as a true Union; if we act with responsibility and solidarity.
Today, the Commission has allocated €4 million in emergency assistance under AMIF to Hungary, following a request made by the country in mid-August. In response to the increased migratory flows to Hungary, the funding will be used to improve the infrastructure of existing reception facilities as well as develop new ones, to purchase further equipment and supplies for reception centres, as well as to expand human resources and increase transport capacities in the country. Commissioner Avramopoulos was in Budapest at the end of June, and is planning to visit Budapest again by the end of the month
Remarks by Commissioner Avramopoulos following his visit to Austria
