Austria and Hungary receive 9 million euros due to refugee crisis

Austria received five million euros yesterday from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). The request was submitted at the end of July, and the funds will be used to increase reception capacity for a total of 1,270 newly arrived asylum seekers, as well as to increase administrative capacity for processing the increased number of asylum applications, reports the European Commission representation, as carried by the Patria news agency.

The Commission also awarded Hungary four million euros in emergency funding from the AMIF today. That country submitted its request for funding in mid-August. Given the increased influx of migrants into Hungary, the funds will be used to improve the infrastructure of existing reception facilities and build new ones, to purchase additional equipment and supplies for reception centres, and to increase the number of staff and transport capacities in the country.

Commissioner Avramopoulos, responsible for migration, home affairs and citizenship, commented on the situation:

"The refugee crisis is not happening somewhere far away from us. It is happening before our eyes. It is knocking on the doors of one EU member state after another. No EU member state can tackle this problem alone. We can overcome this crisis only if we act as a true union, responsibly and in solidarity," writes Index.