As the leaders of the Western Balkan states gather for a summit in Vienna today, the European Union has released €1.5 million in assistance to Serbia and Macedonia, which are currently dealing with a massive influx of refugees trying to get to northern Europe.
The aid will support humanitarian partners in helping with provision of basic emergency services, such as water, hygiene, health care, shelter, protection for refugees and migrants, improvement of reception centres and coordination and reporting on migration issues in the region.
“The Western Balkans are dealing with an unprecedented number of transiting refugees and migrants. The EU is stepping up its humanitarian aid to provide them with urgently needed relief. This is European solidarity at its core,” Christos Stylianides, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, said.
Well over 100,000 refugees, mostly from Southwest Asia and North Africa, have entered the EU through the Balkans already this year.
