1st 25 refugee kids to arrive Finland from Greece in June

The first group of 25 children from Mediterranean refugee camps in Greece will arrive in Finland in June, reported news agency Xinhua quoting the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) on Saturday.

Besides, the second group of the same size of refugee kids are expected to arrive in July, Monna Airiainen, internal relocation coordinator at Migri's Asylum Unit, told national broadcaster Yle.

Every child would undergo health examinations in both Greece and Finland, which also include COVID-19 tests. In Finland, children will be first quarantined for two weeks, Airiainen told Yle.

Earlier last year, Greece asked other EU countries for help in receiving asylum seekers, especially unaccompanied minors. However, the process were slow even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In February 2020, the Finnish government promised that Finland could accept a maximum of 175 asylum seekers from Greece, Cyprus, Malta and Italy. Priority was given to unaccompanied minors and single parents with children.

"Things are moving forward. Greece is preparing for the operation and it looks like the first major transfers would be to Finland, Germany and Portugal in June," Airiainen was quoted by Yle as saying.

She added that the situation on the Greek islands is very acute and it is good that these transfers will start despite the pandemic.

Among the share of 175 refugees that Finland will take in, 130 will be from Greece, 30 from Cyprus, and 15 from Italy and Malta. The first transfers from Cyprus to Finland will take place between June and July.