Slovenia receives 18 more asylum seekers under EU relocation plan

Slovenia received a group of 18 asylum seekers from Greece on Wednesday under an European Union-sponsored relocation scheme, the Interior Ministry has said.

The group comprises 13 nationals of Syria and five citizens of Iraq, the ministry said in a press release.

The migrants have been sent by bus to the asylum centre in the Ljubljana Vic borough, where their asylum requests will be processed. In addition, another 14 migrants will also arrive in next week, the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) reported.

With the latest arrivals, Slovenia has so far accepted 61 migrants under the relocation plan. Before the latest group, 18 Syrians and 10 Iraqis had been relocated from Greece and 15 Eritreans from Italy.

By July 21, the ministry had processed 24 applications for international protection filed by the first group, granting refugee status to 12 and subsidiary protection to 11.

With the latest two groups, the number of asylum seekers relocated to Slovenia will increase to 75 out of the total of 567 that the country committed to accept under the relocation plan this and next year.

In addition, 60 more refugees are to be permanently resettled to Slovenia, including 40 Syrian refugees who are currently in Turkey.
  [Xinhua -globaltimes.cn]
  11/8/16